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ADVENTURES IN PERU 


BY THE SAME AUTHOR 


ADVENTURES IN BOLIVIA 
With an Introduction by R. B. Cun- 


NINGHAME GRAHAM. _ Illustrated with 


Sketches and Photographs. Demy 8vo 


THE BODLEY HEAD 











With acknowledgements to Messrs. Maulland Fox 
CECIL HERBERT PRODGERS 


ADVENTURES IN PERU 
By C. H. PRODGERS. wITH 
FOURTEEN ILLUSTRATIONS 


NEW YORK 
E, P, DUTTON & COMPANY 
1925 





WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, 


vl Win 








AUTHOR'S PREFACE 


PPRECIATION, it is said, is the sauce of 
life. This being so, it is incumbent on 
me to return grateful thanks to all 
those kind-hearted folk who extended 

so warm a welcome to my initial venture on the 
troubled sea of Literature. The reception accorded 
to Adventures in Bolivia has encouraged me 
to inflict another series of yarns on a long-suffering 
public. If they serve to pass the time along 
pleasantly I shall be more than pleased. All the 
same they may, perhaps, induce folk to take a 
livelier interest in lands that are a closed book to 
the majority of my countrymen. That would be 
indeed grand; for Peru and Bolivia, besides offer- 
ing great scope for people who have their heads 
screwed on the right way, also hold out induce- 
ments to sufferers who have found European 
Medical methods ineffectual. So many letters 
have reached me from all quarters of the globe, 
thanking me for calling attention to the wonderful 
healing properties of the various medicinal waters 
of Peru and Bolivia, that I have felt constrained 
to give particulars of additional instances where 


Jura has proved a godsend to pilgrims weary of 


vi AUTHOR’S PREFACE 


earth and burdened with complaints that made 
life a mockery. The knowledge that several of 
my readers have already benefited by taking 
my advice, is extremely gratifying. I have also 
been delighted to receive proofs of the interest 
awakened in the ancient inhabitants of the region 
covered by my book. At the special request 
of a number of readers, I have included in the 
present volume a very brief sketch of the Incas, 
compiled from the best authorities, and supple- 
mented by information supplied by my good 
friends Father Francisco, Hernandez, Father 
Ambrose, Simon Cruz, and many others. 


C. H. PRODGERS. 


MEMOIR 


ECIL HERBERT PRODGERS was a 
remarkable personality. Men of his 
calibre are seldom met with nowa- 
days. He was one of a thousand, 

big mentally and physically. Big in his ideas, 
big in his enterprises, and brimful of love and 
charity; his versatility and genius were only 
equalled by his uprightness and piety. 

Moulded on very generous lines—he stood well 
over six feet in height and weighed twenty-three 
stone—this brave figure of a man was the eldest 
son of Mr. Herbert Prodgers, one time Squire 
of Kington St. Michael, near Chippenham, Wilts, 
an old crusted Tory, eccentric to a degree, and 
autocratic as became one who traced his ancestry 
back to the ancient Ap Rogers of Wales. 

Cecil’s mother, the daughter of Dean Phil- 
potts of Exeter, was famed in the West of England 
for her graciousness and beauty. In her day she 
was accounted one of our most accomplished 
amateur musicians. Old-time frequenters of the 
Albert Hall Society concerts cherished memories 
of her harp playing. 

Almost as soon as he could walk Master Cecil 


Vil 


viii MEMOIR 

took a lively interest in horses, and as a lad of 
twelve participated in the famous Swallets Gate 
run, which is commemorated by the Duke of 
Beaufort’s hunt every Ash Wednesday. On this 
memorable occasion the pack hunted their quarry 
from the find right away to Oxford, a matter of 
forty miles and more. Only half a dozen horse- 
men stuck it to the bitter end, and Cecil Herbert 
Prodgers was one of them. In remembrance 
of this remarkable feat, the Duke presented him 
with the Beaufort gold button—a distinction 
much coveted by hunting men. 

Young Prodgers’ first mentor was a Mr. 
Meyrick, a parson of the old school who had licked 
Prodgers senior into shape years before. At his 
hands he received a thorough grounding in 
ordinary subjects, and was then sent to Stubbing- 
ton. Subsequently he passed on to Eton. 

When he had attained nineteen years of age 
his father bade him seek his fortune in South 
Africa. There he was initiated into all the ins 
and outs of farming and stockriding, and became 
well versed in native ways and customs. Keen 
to learn all there was to know about everything 
that he hit up against, he had a shot at diamond 
digging and store keeping. Several times he 
came within an ace of landing a big coup. Once 
he bought a farm off a Dutchman on the instal- 
ment system; but, owing to the looting of his 
store, he couldn’t pay one of the instalments 
when it fell due. His creditor was quite willing 
to wait awhile, but Prodgers would have none of 


MEMOIR ix 


it. “I will owe no man,” he said, “ so you must 
take to the farm again.’ After considerable 
pressure the Dutchman consented to this arrange- 
ment, but, because he liked the boy, insisted on 
returning £50 of the money he had already 
received. Later on the property passed into 
other hands; diamonds were found there, and 
eventually a company paid £70,000 for it. Such 
is luck. This was not the only time that the 
fickle jade jilted Prodgers. Readers of the pages 
that follow will come across more than two or 
three instances where she served him cruelly. 
Yet he never groused or allowed set-backs to 
damp his ardour; he was always ready and 
willing to risk a fall, whatever the odds. For 
example, during one of the troublous periods 
that were the bane of South Africa, some of the 
native tribes having gone on the war path, he 
accepted a wager of £50 to £10 that he wouldn't 
ride from Cape Town to Durban in order to warn 
the burghers and outlying squatters. The dis- 
tance was five hundred miles, and the adventurous 
rider had to run the gauntlet on several occasions. 
He won through all right, and earned the saree 
of the whole Community. 

When war broke out with the Boers, Cecil 
Prodgers proffered his services to the Old Country, 
and became attached to General Bisset’s staff. 
In these surroundings he met with adventures 
galore. Once he fell into the enemy’s hands, 
only to escape by means of a daring ruse. 

Much could be written about our friend’s thrill- 


~ MEMOIR 


ing experiences in South Africa and his excursions 
in search of big game further North. When he 
transferred his energies to the South American 
continent, he began with a spell of railway con- 
struction work and a year spent on the Stock 
Exchange. Then he blossomed out as a trainer 
of racehorses. In this sphere of activity he 
achieved remarkable success, and was esteemed 
second to none in his profession. During the 
close season he undertook many expeditions into 
out-of-the-way parts where white men have rarely 
penetrated. Peculiar interest attaches to one of 
these jaunts, in that it was undertaken at the 
behest of the Kaiser. The disturber of the World’s 
peace was particularly anxious to ascertain the 
conditions that prevail in the Andes at various 
altitudes. In this connection, he expressed an 
opinion that if an Englishman could withstand 
them, there was no reason why German soldiers 
should not. Details of the forage available were 
required, likewise a full description of how to 
make chuno. In the light of what occurred 
subsequently in 1914, it is easy to see that the 
Alexander microbe was even then working in 
Wilhelm’s brain. 

In 1922 Prodgers’ first book, Adventures in 
Bolivia, was published with a noteworthy intro- 
duction by Mr. R. B. Cunninghame Graham. 
He then wrote the present work and a collection 
of Racing reminiscences. While Adventures in 
Peru was going through the press, he passed 
away aiter a very short illness. 


MEMOIR xi 


As an explorer Prodgers was pre-eminent. 
He had a way with him that fascinated the native 
tribes with whom he came in contact. They 
trusted him, for, like the Quaker Fathers, his word 
was his bond, and he always treated their rites 
and ceremonies with scrupulous respect. Small 
wonder that they reverenced him as a _ king 
among men, and in good sooth he was a king— 
single-minded, generous, unselfish, lion-hearted. 
The part that he played in helping to bring 
the terrible Putumayo atrocities to the notice 
of the civilized world, bears witness to his being 
the natives’ true friend. 

Next to his own homeland, Prodgers loved 
Peru best, perhaps, of all the countries with which 
he claimed acquaintance. He honoured her States- 
men, and was highly esteemed by them. There 
is no doubt that the amicable settlement of the 
Arica dispute between Peru and Chile, was largely 
due to the beneficent influence he was able to 
exert. 

CHARLES J. MABERLY. 


LAMBOURN, 
Easter, 1924. 
















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Ret . PAGE 
THe WRECK AT JUAN FERNANDEZ : : ; ; A 
gOS rr ri’) | 
Tue Haunt or THE BUCCANEERS ; : 4 
Sza SERPENTS AND SHA TREASURES . ; ; . 49 
A Journey iro THe INTERIOR . 23. wti(‘“C:*é‘C;;*C*SDS 
— Honrine Pumas AND GUANACOs . ; od pete, vo Res 
Meeeree reas Cavckts Mn’. . . . . . “6 
Cae | 
- Inca TREASURES , ; ? : ' : . 88 
_ Tue Crry or tHe Kines . ; } ‘ ; , 8 
X. Taues or THE Turr . ; é . : ; . 102 ed 
 Turoven tae Nasca anp CaNeTE VALLEYS. . 121 
| Oa ae 
On tHe Carrie Boars ‘ F ; i ‘ te Lee 
Taues oF Far Perv . : ; ‘ : r eet 3 6 
Sea 
(§NAKES AND OTHER Horrors . . . . . 210 
Goup,=SinverR, EMERALDS, AND PEARLS. P . 220 
NITE POC Cet eG ol ee ¢ Asa 


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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 


FACING PAGH 


Cro, HERBERT PRODGERS : : ; . Frontisprece 


A WaTER-cOLOUR SKETCH BY THE AUTHOR OF THE OLD INCA 
CASTLE NEAR CAXAMARCA , 2 i P i : f 


InDIAN WoMAN oF THE HiaH ANDES NEAR Cuzco AND Puno. 


Remains oF Pre-Incatc CrivinizATION NEAR THE RwvINS oF 
THE GENTILES, Tranuanaca, Bo.ivia. , : ‘ : 


THE BULL-FIGHT AT Lima . : : : ‘ ‘ : 

THE Ruins oF PacHACAMACA, NEAR Lima. ; , / , 
Near TUMBEZ . 4 , , ; ? ; : ; ; 
Near Lake HouacacHina . ; ; : . : : 

INDIANS OF PERENE CoLoNY, CHANCHAMAYO, EHaSTERN PERU . 
FacaDE or Campania CHURCH, AREQUIPA . ; : ; : 
IN THE FOREST . ;. ; } ‘ - ‘ F ; ¢ 


Rourns oF tHE Inca PaLack OF COLCAMPATA OF THE MANCO 
Capac at Cuzco. ; fe : f ‘ A ; F 


PART OF THE UNCOVERED INCA WALL at Cuzco 4 : . 


INDIAN GIRLS OF THE Putumayo RIVER BHING PAINTED IN 
PREPARATION FOR A TRIBAL DANCE . : K : ‘ 


xV 


36 
56 


84 
96 
96 
116 
116 
144 
172 
186 


196 
196 


232 














~ 





NTURES IN PERU 








ADVENTURES IN PERU 


CHAPTER I 


THE WRECK AT JUAN FERNANDEZ 


T the time when poor Kemmis went broke, 
and there was nothing doing Las Rosas 
way, it behoved me to look round for 
another job. I didn’t believe in loafing 

about Santiago, on the chance of something 
turning up. So I broke altogether new ground. 
Hearing that Kuhn & Co. had bought the wreck 
of the Telegraph, stranded at the isle of Juan 
Fernandez, I got in touch with them and obtained 
the job of superintending her breaking up. [If it 
were possible to do so at a profit, I had to bring 
her over to the mainland. Captain Bruhn’s 
_ powerful tug, the Pachuco, was commissioned for 
the purpose. In addition to her own complement, 
she carried an auxiliary crew of eight men under 
Captain Brown to man the Telegraph. 

Two days after arriving at the island, the tug 
took the hulk in hand, and hauled her out to sea. 
For a little while, everything in the garden looked 


lovely, but soon the effects of being so long laid 
1 B 


2 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


by became apparent. Captain Brown reported 
she was leaking like a sieve all round. But 
although the pumps couldn’t keep pace with the 
inrush of water, he wanted to hold on his way. 
He felt quite sure, he said, that he could get her 
to Valparaiso all right. He would, however, be 
guided by us, ie. Bruhn and myself. Now 
Kuhn had promised him an additional £500, 
plus £50 for each member of his crew, if he made 
the mainland, so one could understand why he 
was anxious to proceed. 

Bruhn and I both considered the matter 
sympathetically, but came to the conclusion that 
Brown must abandon the attempt. Bruhn was 
afraid to take the risk, although he stood to have 
£150 of Brown’s £500. It was all very well, he 
said, so long as the weather continued favour- 
able; but suppose a norther sprang up? ‘There 
was plenty of time for such an occurrence, as 
’twould take us four to six days to get to Val- 
paraiso. Brown scoffed at his fears, but even- 
tually agreed that I should act as referee. Now 
I was interested in Brown’s project to the extent 
of £100, but I had great respect for Bruhn’s 
judgment, and I didn’t feel inclined to run any 
extra risk on the off chance of getting £100. 
Besides, the vessel was really leaking very badly. 
So I decided against the venture. ‘“ About ship ” 
was then the order of the day. Back we went to 
Juan Fernandez with all sails set, and finally 
beached the Z'elegraph high and dry. 

Bruhn returned to Valparaiso to report to 


THE WRECK AT JUAN FERNANDEZ 3 


Kuhn, while I remained on the spot to super- 
intend the breaking-up process. I started by 
engaging a ship’s carpenter named Arrendondo 
_ to assist. Arrendondo had lived on the island 
twenty-three years. He had originally been a 
whaler, but suffered so much from sea-sickness 
_ that he had been compelled to seek more congenial 
employment. While thus engaged, he hit upon 
Juan Fernandez, and found it so much to his 
liking that he decided to settle down there. When 
he joined the whaling enterprise he had invested 
£2000 in the company of which August Miller 
was the principal director. Whilst he was con- 
nected with the affair his original capital swelled 
- to £4000. Directly he decided to make the island 
his permanent home, Arrendondo wrote Muller 
and asked him to send him over a couple of 
draught oxen, some stores and tools, and £2000 
cash. Miller, of course, complied, like the good 
fellow he was. Arrendondo intended to buy a 
coffee estate with the money, but things didn’t 
pan out as he hoped, so he deposited the £2000 
under the floor of his cabin in a little iron safe. 
I got Arrendondo and his two sons to construct 
a chalet out of the stout oak beams we found in 
the Telegraph. They made a rattling good job 
of it too. We fixed it up with the saloon and 
cabin furniture, and by the time we had finished 
it looked quite top hole. 
Kuhn now appeared upon the scene, to arrange 
matters finally with me. The offer he made 
_ seemed to me a very fair one. I was to get the 


4 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


chalet and one-sixth of the copper and brass we 
salved, plus all the timber. It seemed a paying 
‘proposition, for besides copper sheathing and 
bolts galore, and a plenitude of brasswork, the 
Telegraph carried three good heavy anchors and 
chains. Last, but certainly not least, her massive 
figurehead was a Venus, composed wholly of 
copper. Therefore I looked like doing pretty 
well out of the metals. Anyhow, the job would 
fill in my time profitably until I got into harness 
again on the turf. 

The breaking up of the wreck occupied four 
months. We salved an enormous amount of 
copper and brass, as may be seen, when I mention 
that after Brown and his men had been paid 
their share of the profits, I received 856 dollars 
(gold), in addition to the chalet (valued at 1700), 
and all the timber. 

In my spare time, ie. when the weather 
hampered our operations, | fossicked about a lot. 
It struck me that there was a good opening for 
a smoked fish factory. Accordingly I busied 
myself in inquiring into the various methods of 
curing the finny monsters that frequented the 
waters round about the island. I soon discovered 
overwhelming proof that if you want to get the 
best results, there is nothing like oak. So I 
used to smoke my fish with oak chips, very slightly 
sprinkled with eucalyptus leaves. This gave 
them a distinctive and delicious flavour. I 
turned Kuhn’s carpenters’ shed into a smoke 
room; and, within a very short space of time, 


ae 


THE WRECK AT JUAN FERNANDEZ 5 


had every available person on the island employed 
in catching fish for me. I paid at the rate of 
3s. per quintal, weighed without heads and 
_ backbones. My fishing-ground extended to the 
adjacent islands of Santa Clara and Mas-a-fuera 
(Spanish for “further off’’), so I got plenty of 
material to work upon; but I made a rule never 
to accept a fish landed after 12 o’clock noon. 

To give some idea of the vast quantities of 
fish in these waters, I may say that on one 
occasion I went out in my flat-bottomed punt 
with Waldimar Fisher, my old henchman, and 
caught 403 lb. of cod and corbina between the 

- hours of 2 and 6.30 p.m. Waldimar looked after 
the boat, while I fished with a stout line and big 
hook. Frequently I got fast on to a monster 
that required our united efforts to haul in. Some 
had heads as big as a small calf’s. I disposed of 
my catch to an Italian named Cardoni, whose 
wife was a most beautiful woman. He—well, I 
hardly know what he did with it, but have my 
suspicions. My 12 o'clock rule was a very hard- 
and-fast one; still there are ways of evading 
every rule. 

I soon made headway with my factory. One 
of my best customers was Weir, Scott & Co., 
who had a big store on the mainland. They gave 
me 30s. per quintal for the finished article. 
Don’t, however, run away with the idea that 
I made a profit of 27s. on the quintal. In the 
first place, it takes three quintals of wet fish to 
make one quintal of cured. Then there is the 


6 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


expense attached to washing, hanging, salting, 
drying, pressing and boxing to be taken into 
consideration. Nevertheless, I made good money 
every month. 

To occupy my spare time, I made arrange- 
ments with various wealthy people, such as the 
Cousinos, Minchin, Penny and Lutges (the owner 
of the magnificent hotel at Vina del Mar), to supply 
them with some of the ferns for which Juan 
Fernandez is famous. I was to receive £150 for 
each cargo of 100 tree ferns that I landed on the 
mainland. How to get them over there, was the 
trouble. Well, I soon got round that. I went 
half-shares in a seventeen-ton schooner that Fonck 
had bought at a forced sale. It had cost its late 
owner £2000 to build. Fonck got it for £400. It 
was constructed of oak, and suited my purpose 
admirably. Altogether I sent across seven con- 
signments. 

A few words descriptive of Juan Fernandez 
may not be out of place here. It is a little island, — 
365 miles west of Valparaiso, so replete in natural 
attractions as to be considered one of the most 
enchanting spots on God’s earth. It is even 
more a lazy man’s paradise than Peru, and that 
is saying a lot. Lofty hills, slumbering valleys, 
purling streams, and wonderfully varied vegeta- 
tion, form a combination that exerts an irresist- 
ible influence on visitors. Its rocky, precipitous — 
headlands, and irregular pinnacle-shaped forma- 
tions, are particularly striking. The highest point — 
above sea-level is called El Yunqui, ie. the anvil. — 


THE WRECK AT JUAN FERNANDEZ 7 


It is shaped exactly like that useful appanage of 
the smithy, and is apparently unclimbable. 

Years ago, when the island was used as a 
convict settlement, the Chilian government offered 
5000 dollars (gold) and a free pardon to any 
prisoner who scaled the eminence and planted 
the national flag on top. Two convicts tried their 
luck. One gave up the attempt when he reached 
the base of the anvil. The other persevered, and 
looked like accomplishing the feat; but just when 
success seemed within measurable distance, he 
lost his foothold and fell headlong into the forest 
below. He was never seen or heard of again. 
_ Geologically considered, the formation is basalt, 
greenstone, and trap tufis. There are altogether 
twenty-four species of ferns that are in general 
request, growing on this lovely island ; four of 
them are of special interest. One of these—the 
Helecho fernandisciana—is only found on Juan 
Fernandez. I have this on the authority of Sir 
Thistleton Dyer, who wrote to Sir Audley Gosling 
on the subject. I forget the name of one of the 
species, but the other two are the rare Helecho 
brunato and Helecho dicksonia. Of ordinary kinds 
of ferns, such as maiden-hair, etc., Juan Fernandez 
boasts at least twenty. These grow luxuriantly 
in the valleys and creeks, and between the crevices 
of the rocks. | 

The paths leading up to the hills are bordered 
with beautiful flowers. Among these may be 
noted many wonderful ground orchids. Near 
the coast one frequently comes across enormous 


8 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


patches of arum lilies. The Panque also eTOWS 
here. It has tremendous leaves like rhubarb, 
which have a peculiarity all their own, for they 
hold water. I have often poured half a bucket 
of water into a leaf over-night, and found it next 
day not the least diminished. This plant has 
blooms resembling a hyacinth, only three times 
as big, with an orange and scarlet centre. 

The Disciana is like a small tree fern, but has — 
leaves like a maiden-hair. This species is very 
rare. I was able to include one or two in my 
cargoes ordered from the mainland. Subsequently 
I sent a few to England for my father and King 
Edward, then Prince of Wales. At Sir Thistleton’s 
request, conveyed through Sir Audley Gosling, 
I obtained specimens of the Panque, the Helecho 
fernandisciana and the Chonta palm for Kew 
Gardens. Like the Panque, the latter is indigenous 
to Juan Fernandez. The order for King Edward’s 
ferns also came from Sir Audley Gosling, who 
said His Royal Highness would be very pleased 
if I could get them for him. I was, of course, — 
only too delighted to comply with the command 
So graciously expressed, and made a special trip 
to fulfil it. My ordinary cargoes of ferns con- 
sisted of from 100 to 120 specimens, the tallest 
of which measured 22 ft. I had to consider the 
capacity of my hold, or I might have shipped 
some even larger. They grow 30 ft. and over 
in height. I like those best that range from 
8 to 12 ft. 

Generally speaking, I had very good luck with 


THE WRECK AT JUAN FERNANDEZ 9 


my fern cargoes. Two lots I sent to my father 
arrived at Kington in perfect order, and took to 
their new home in splendid fashion; but I had 
rotten hard lines with those consigned for King 
Kdward and for Kew. I spent extra pains, had 
them specially packed, and most carefully stowed 
away in the hold of the schooner. They arrived 
at Vina del Mar in fine condition, and were then 
taken charge of by Lutges. The latter gave strict 
orders to his gardeners to let them have very 
special attention, and there is no doubt his 
orders were implicitly obeyed. When I called 
on Sharp, the popular manager of the Pacific 
Steam Navigation Co., he asked me whether I 
meant to send the ferns carriage forward to Eng- 
land, or pay the freightage myself. I inquired 
what the charges would amount to. ‘‘ Something 
like £35,” he replied. ‘In that case,’ I said, 
“ they had better go ‘ carriage forward.’ ’’ ‘‘ Where 
to?” was his next question. Itoldhim. ‘‘ Marl- 
borough House!”’ he exclaimed. ‘“‘Then we couldn’t 
dream of making any charge whatever. The 
whole ship is at His Royal Highness’s disposal.”’ 
Sharp, like the good fellow he was, made special 
arrangements for the housing of the ferns aboard 
ship, so that they should not be subjected to 
sudden variations of temperature, etc., and de- 
tailed a man to look after them till they reached 
the end of their voyage. But unfortunately, 
when nearing Finisterre, the vessel encountered 
very rough weather. The sea raged mountains 
high, flooding the engine-room near to which the 


10 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


precious cargo was located, and pretty well 
drowning the life out of the ferns. When they 
reached England my father’s head gardener, 
Sheppard, and his assistants, did their utmost to 
resuscitate them, but, alas! their efforts were of 
no avail, After all the precautions I had taken, 
this was a sad blow to me, for I had counted on 
their arriving in extra good fettle. There is one 
peculiarity about these ferns I should mention. 
When transplanted to foreign soil they flourish 
especially well for five years or so, and then 
rapidly deteriorate. 

Most of my lobster and fern trips proved 
uneventful. On two occasions, however, I was 
nearly wrecked. Once we were taking 500 lobsters 
and 115 tree ferns to the mainland. The lobsters 
cost Fonck and me 24 cents each, and we looked 
to make at least sixpence profit on every one we 
landed in good condition. 

On our first trip we had got 3s. and 4s. apiece 
for them, in the Valparaiso and Santiago shops ; 
but, subsequently, found it more advantageous 
to dispose of them to dealers, who came to the 
ship for them. We should have done fairly well 
but for the great mortality among the crustaceans. 
Rarely more than 60 per cent. arrived in market- 
able condition. The tree ferns were for the 
Cousino Palace at Santiago. Four days out from 
Juan Fernandez we ran into very heavy weather. 
A terrible wind lashed the waves till they raged 
horribly. I kept asking Larson, the skipper, 
when he was going to heave to. He always replied, 


ms ory =) 
fe = oe eee ae ee eee 


THE WRECK AT JUAN FERNANDEZ Il 


“Oh, I think we'll hold on just a little longer.” 
“Very well, my good fellow,” I observed, “ but it 
looks to me as if you may hold on too long, if 
you don’t watch it.”’ All of a sudden an enormous 
wave struck us amidships. As our little craft 
heeled right over on her side, Larson shouted— 

““Oh, my God! We’re gorners.”’ 

“Rats! Leried. ‘Come and give me a hand, 
and help heave this over.” So saying, I bashed 
in the head of a 63-gallon cask of shark oil with 
an axe I had picked up on the cabin step. 
“Whatever will Fonck say?” ejaculated 
Larson. 

“Go to Putney!” I said. ‘ Isn’t your life, 
and Martin’s and Charlie’s and mine, worth more 
than a spot of oil ?”’ 

“Oh, well,” he agreed, “I suppose you're 
right. Anyway, half the oil belongs to you.” 

Without further parley, we set about dumping 
the stuff overboard. And not a moment too 
goon, for another wallop would have made our 
vessel turn turtle completely. The effect was 
simply marvellous! Directly the oil touched 
the face of the raging waters, it seemed to 
break the waves down; so that in a very short 
space of time the sea, for a considerable distance 
round, was as smooth as a duck pond. Our 
immediate danger over, we had to see about 
righting the ship. This was a job attended with 
not a little danger, for our cargo had shifted. 
Everything was pretty well upside down, and the 
cook’s galley and our solitary boat had been swept 


12 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


away astern. All the ferns had to be sacrificed, 
but what went even more against the grain was 
having to part with our two goats. Most of our 
provisions had to go; in fact, when we took stock, 
we found we had to subsist on a few loaves of 
bread, a small bag of split peas, some tins of beef, 
and a dozen or two lobsters until we reached port. 

Larson and Co. doffed their hats to me, for 
thinking of the oil, saying I had undoubtedly 
saved their lives. I told them it was not so; 
but only a merciful Providence that had put the 
idea into my head, while they themselves stood 
gaping around. I could not resist quoting Cow- 
per’s beautiful words— 


‘“ God moves in a mysterious way, 
His wonders to perform ; 
He plants His footsteps in the sea, 
And rides upon the storm.” 


Fortunately our two casks of fresh water were 
spared to us, so we were able to make up the 
peas into soup. On this meagre fare, eked out 
with two tins of beef, we subsisted eleven days, 
during six of which we were hove to. Still we 
didn’t do too badly, for Larson and I had each a 
couple of bottles of whisky, and two dozen 
Apollinaris water, while Martin and Charlie had 
four bottles of rum between them. Larson and 


I only indulged in two drinks a day, hence our 


liquor lasted out well, but Charlie soon put paid 
to his rum. [I think what we missed most was 
our store of condensed milk and sugar. Whilst 


THE WRECK AT JUAN FERNANDEZ 18 


we were hove to, we found great benefit from the 
oil. At my suggestion, Larson trailed two bags 
instead of one. When the storm abated on the 
seventh day, we found we were 243 miles off our 
track, and about 120 miles north of Coquimbo! 
My other nerve-racking experience occurred 
on the Adriatico, a three-masted schooner of 250 
tons. She put into Juan Fernandez on her way 
from Corral to Valparaiso, in order to ship copper 
bolts, etc., resulting from the wreck of the Upper 
Hammoc, which Fonck had purchased. She had 
also to pick up three horses I was taking to the 
mainland. Timmie, her captain, was a Dane, 
and a real good sort. He let me have a nice big 
cabin all to myself. I couldn’t help noticing, 
however, that no Plimsoll mark was visible. I 
took him to task about this. ‘‘ Oh, that’s all 
right,” he said, “look at the glass. The weather 
is beautiful, and will continue so, at any rate, 
until we reach Val.’”’ I allowed myself to be 
persuaded against my better Judgment; s0, with 
the help of Larson and his men, I hoisted my 
horses on board. At the same time I shipped a 
cargo of 300 ferns. Timmie said Fonck wouldn’t 
charge any freightage for them, but the horses 
cost me £18. | 
We started on July 21, with a fair wind and 
a good sea. The Adriatico bowled along at a fine 
pace. Timmie was in high spirits. He expected 
to do the journey in five days, so he said. All went 
well for forty-eight hours, and then our troubles 
began. First we were becalmed for a matter of 


14 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


five days. After that the weather broke, and 
seemed to be blowing up for a storm. Two days 
later we were in the thick of it. Lashed into a 
fury, the waves rose mountains high all round 
our devoted barque. The wind blew a full gale, 
and every now and then rain fell in biting 
squalls. : 

Said I to the skipper, ‘‘ Timmie, old man, 
your craft looks like coming a mucker.” ‘“‘ What 
makes you say that ?’’ he inquired. ‘‘ Because,” 
I continued, “ she goes like a log, and don’t give 
and take to the motion of the waves.” 

‘* Hang presentiments!”’ replied Timmie, “I 
don’t like them. All the same, there is something 
in what you say; the boat lies just like a log. 
Maybe she has sprung a, leak.” 

With that he left me, and went to take sound- 
ings. An hour passed before he returned, and said, 
‘* Let’s go into the saloon.”’ When we got there 
he produced some whisky and Apollinaris, and 
poured out two glasses of the mixture. Then he 
pointed to his chart. ‘“‘ Here we are,” he said, 
** 260 miles from the mainland, and the boat is 
making water fast. All hands are at the pumps, 
including the cook, and I myself am relieving the 
man at the wheel. Now, will you busy yourself 
making Bovril, tea, cocoa, sandwiches and other 
things, and hand them round to the pumpers ? 
That is our only chance. We must keep them 
going, or we are beat.”” Needless to say, I willingly 
complied. ; 


Three hours later he told me the water was 


oy i > a 
4 


THE WRECK AT JUAN FERNANDEZ 15 


gaining on the pumps, and he felt sure the boat 
could not keep afloat more than twenty hours at 
longest. In all probability, her fate and ours 
would be sealed in another twelve. We were 
only making six knots an hour. ‘‘ God alone can 
Save us now,” he said. ‘“‘ No boat could live in 
this raging sea.’’ So we turned to the Almighty, 
and prayed to Him fervently several times that 
night. I have no doubt whatever that He 
answered our prayers; for, although the glass 
continued to go down, by about seven o’clock 
the next morning the storm abated, and the sea 
subsided. Within a few short hours the weather 
was as nice as one could wish. Timmie and I and 
the sailors thanked the Lord for all His mercies, 
and felt like new men. 

Timmie steered for the nearest land, intending 
to beach the vessel on the sandy coast ere the 
wind got up again. When, however, we got 
abreast of the lighthouse, about forty miles from 
Valparaiso, they signalled us, and sent a tug to 
escort us in. One of the owners of the Adriatico 
came aboard. He was in a sad state of mind, 
and greatly agitated. He begged me not to report 
our vessel’s shortcomings to the Port Captain. If 
I did so his firm would be ruined. I took him 
severely to task, and told him they had evidently 
cared not a rap what became of Timmie and 
those who travelled with him. To send the 
vessel to sea in an unseaworthy state was a shame- 
ful act, and deserving of drastic punishment. 
This dressing down quite broke him up, and he 


16 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


became so abject in his pleading, that I really 
felt almost sorry to see a fellow-man so abased. 
I reflected, too, that we had been shown great 
mercy, hence it was up to me to be not over hard. 
So, after extracting his solemn promise that 
nothing of the sort should ever occur again, I 
said I would let the matter drop. When the 
affair had blown over a little while, Timmie 
visited me at my stables in Vina del Mar. He 
said he had been offered a much larger ship, but 
had made up his mind to retire, and take on a 
job as master of a tug. I told him J didn’t blame 
him. Subsequently he was appointed Govern- 
ment Surveyor of ships, and he and his wife often 
spent an afternoon with me at my stables, when 
I was training for Penny, Subercasieux and 
others. We neither of us forgot our thrilling 
experience, and never met without some reference 
to the extraordinary manner in which the storm 
had subsided, when everything, including the 
glass, seemed to indicate that it would increase 
in volume. 

My loss on this trip was a big one. Three 
hundred pounds worth of ferns had to be chucked 
overboard, and two of my horses died within a 
couple of days of being landed. Strange to say, 
the surviving horse was the least robust of the 
three. When he had recovered from the effect of 
the voyage, I sold him to the Tramway Company 
for £20. : 

Once when Larson was loading lobsters into 
the Juan Fernandez, as we called our little 


THE WRECK AT JUAN FERNANDEZ 17 


schooner, Josh Slocum, the skipper of the famous 
Spray cutter, visited the island. 

*‘ Larson,” he said, “yon’s a bonnie little 
boat, although she’s only 17 tons. Built of 
oak and pretty near as broad as she’s long, you 
need never fear facing any sea on the surface of 
the globe in her, if you’ll only do as I tell you. 
When foul weather threatens, don’t wait till the 
storm is on you, but heave to, and out with the 
oil bags. At sunset, if the wind freshens, heave 
to and read or smoke in comfort. The sea need 
never trouble you. All you have to fear is whales.” 
I thought this was very excellent advice. 
Slocum took a big lump of sandstone away 
with him, from Alexander Selkirk’s cave. He 
said he intended to make good money on it when 
he returned to New York. ‘“ Every guy who 
wants to see it, will have to pay half a dollar,” he 
declared; ‘‘and those who wish to sit on it 
must shell out double.’’ £20,000 was, I believe, 
the sum he expected to receive over his trip round 
the globe. 

Slocum’s mention of smoking in comfort 
reminds me of a laughable instance in which old 
Harry figured. We had left Valparaiso on Novem- 
ber 30. It doesn’t signify what year. I only 
mention the month, because, in that part of the 
world, summer begins on November I, and I like 
folk to understand the atmospheric conditions 
that prevailed on the occasion under notice. 
Four days out, we got becalmed, so I amused 
myself by diving and swimming in the sea. A 
. Cc 


18 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


long line was attached to my body, and fastened 
to the ship’s ladder, so that in an emergency I 
could haul myself in pretty quick. ‘‘ Sharks ?” 
Well, yes, they are inclined to be playful at times. 
A day or so after, the breeze sprang up and 
we got a move on. Old Harry was sitting on the 
rails smoking his pipe. Larson cried out to him, 
“Ahoy, there! Mind you don’t get a bath with 
all your clothes on.” Harry laughed, and grunted 
“‘Tve done this sort of thing, man and boy, for 
fifty year and more, without falling off, and I 
ain’t likely to do it now.’’ Whether he dozed or 
not, I can’t say, but less than half an hour later 
we heard a great “plop,” and lo! and behold! 
there was our poor old friend struggling in the 
sea, and fast drifting astern. He had slipped off 
his perch with his pipe in his mouth! I chucked 
him a rope, and we soon hauled him back again. 
Two days passed and then we sighted a school 
of whales. One big fellow kept close company 
with us for a couple of hours, diving first one side, 
then the other of the ship. Being longer than our 
craft, we were fearful lest he might capsize us. 
Larson suggested I should get my rifle, and take 
pot shots at him. He thought that would frighten 
the monster fish away. I had, however, good 
reason to know better, for I had only lately been 
reading an account in the Liverpool Mercury of 
how a whale served a ship when treated in that 
fashion. It was headed in big black letters, and 
narrated that after a passenger had fired off twice, — 
the whale turned and charged the vessel repeatedly. 


THE WRECK AT JUAN FERNANDEZ 19 


If my memory serves me, the boat referred to was 
a big Yokohama steamer. When I showed the 
paper to Larson, he said, “ Oh, that would never 
do! ‘The whole caboodle might come for us, and 
then where should we be?” So he hove to, for, 
I suppose, about a couple of hours, during which 
the whale continued to frolic around, but each 
time it dived it increased its distance from us, 
until finally it got lost to sight. So we reached 
Juan Fernandez without mishap. | 

Formerly, sandalwood was very plentiful on 
the island, but of late it has become extremely 
scarce. Smart walking sticks are manufactured 
of it. I had two dozen made for me—one stick I 
gave to my father, one I passed on to Lutges, 
and one I retained for myself. The remainder I 
disposed of to dealers in Valparaiso at £2 apiece. 
and they got fancy prices for them. 

Cranberries, myrtles, strawberries and rasp- 
berries grow wild in many parts of Juan Fernandez. 
It is said strawberries originated in Chile. That 
is the opinion held by several learned botanists 
at any rate. According to island tradition, how- 
ever, the Chilian varieties were developed from 
the wild ones of Juan Fernandez. The island 
berries are about the size of Royal Sovereigns. 
There are two sorts, white and red. They grow 
quite wild. They are not looked after and 
cultivated by expert horticulturists like my 
friend James Reynolds; and yet I have never 

seen any English berries to equal them in appear- 
ance or flavour. 















Admiral—Commander Hawke, and Lieut. Br 
—gson of General Browell—spent most of 
time with me. They said they had never 
such luscious figs, not even in Smyrna. 


CHAPTER II 
A TROPICAL ISLAND 


Y henchman, old Waldimar Fisher, had 
travelled about in his time, more 
than a bit. Among the places he 
had visited were the Cocos Islands, 

two thousand miles off Nicaragua. Having re- 
gard to the tales I had heard about these haunts 
of old-time ‘‘skull-and-cross-bone’’ men, I was 
greatly interested in what he himself had to say 
in connection with them. 

It has long been rumoured there is treasure 
buried there. Several people have had a shot at 
finding it, amongst others, Admiral Palliser. 
This gallant gentleman and some of his colleagues 
fitted out an expedition and put in six weeks, 
so Fisher said, hunting for the hidden riches. 
However they found nothing worth writing home 
about. Fisher himself made more than one 
attempt. Five years after his first venture he 
received a note from a sick man located at Co- 
quimbo hospital, asking him to call on him. 
When Fisher got there, he found the man was one 
whom he had befriended when he was in good 
circumstances. ‘To save Lazarus from the conse- 
quences of utter despair, Fisher had made him 


steward on his own boat. Feeling he was now at 
21 


aa 


92 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


the point of death, the poor fellow said he wished 
to make Fisher some return for his kindly deed. 
It appeared that a few years previously he had 
been associated with a number of adventurers 
who purposed to discover the Cocos treasure. 
They chartered a small schooner, and actually 
started on their voyage of discovery. To their 
intense disgust, they encountered such abomin- 
able weather that they were obliged to return to 
port and relinquish their project for the time 
being. Somehow and somewhere on the journey 
this man sneaked the chart they banked on, to 
show them the location of the treasure. When 
the loss was discovered, there was, of course, an 
unholy row. A vigorous search was instituted, 
but Fisher’s friend had hidden the document so 
snugly that nothing came of it. J understood he 
secreted it in his trunk, but knowing a bit about 
the keen-witted men who frequent these seas, I 
should beg leave to doubt that, unless maybe 
the box was furnished with a false bottom. Even 
SO ! But there, it doesn’t signify where the 
man hid his prize. The only thing that really 
matters is, he got away with it allright. He said 
he had always intended to let Fisher into the 
secret, so that they two could go and have a try 
on their own. Now there was no possibility of 
their ever doing that, he had decided to give the 
chart to Fisher, making only this proviso, viz. 
when Fisher was ready to go to Cocos, he was to 
tell the real owner of the chart so that he might 
participate, if he chose. 





ms. / 


A TROPICAL ISLAND 23 


After the ex-steward had been dead and buried 
a little while, Waldimar approached some of his 
Valparaiso friends discreetly, but could find no 
one willing to put up the pieces, hence he had to 
let the matter lie in abeyance. Subsequently he 
happened upon very hard times and had to post- 
pone it indefinitely. 

His undoing came about in this wise. When 
he decided to retire from the whaling industry, he 
sold his share in the undertaking for £7000. 
Added to what he had banked, he now commanded 
a capital of £11,000. So he thought he would 
launch out a bit. Accordingly he bought a 
property at English Hill, Valparaiso, for £2000, 
and spent a similar sum on improving it. Then 
he went half-shares with a fellow in a big coal 
business. That absorbed another £4000. Fisher 
hoped to make big money out of this enterprise. 
But alas, and alack! His partner had a brain 
wave; drew £7000 to go to Europe and buy an 
extra large collier with passenger accommodation, 
and—never returned., Fisher struggled along for 
a little while under this smashing blow, but soon 
went broke. 

I first hit up against him when on my way to 
see the author of that remarkably clever book, 
A Merry Banker in the Far Hast. During the 
hour or so I had to wait before seeing him, I 
occupied myself in strolling up and down the 
wharf at Valparaiso. While thus engaged, I was 
accosted by an old sailorman, whose beard was 
turning grey. He told a piteous tale, and said 


24. ADVENTURES IN PERU 


he had had no grub and was pretty nigh famished. 
Something about him impressed me favourably, so 
I gave him a third-class ticket to Vina del Mar on 
my train, and directed him to my stables. Before 
we started I saw to the requirements of his inner 
man. : 

He turned up at my establishment in due 
course, and I then allotted him a bunk in what I 


called the dosser’s room. This I had had con- 


structed out of two of the loose boxes. The 


bunks were nicely fitted up with straw mattresses — 


and bolsters and feather pillows, etc., and were 
well supplied with horse rugs as coverlets. I 
directed the cook to give him three meals per day 
with the lads, and then told the old man what 
I expected in return, viz. I should look to him to 
keep the yard and appurtenances quite clean and 
tidy. So long as he satisfied me in that connec- 
tion, he could make the stables his home till 
something better turned up. Waldimar observed 
his part of the contract so entirely to my satis- 
faction, that when I went to Juan Fernandez I 
took him with me. There he proved himself so 
trustworthy that I left him in charge of my 
belongings when I sought new surroundings in 
connection with training operations. 

After Phyllis and his men took their departure, 
Waldimar made me a present of the information 
contained in his Cocos chart, stipulating that if I 
ever went in search of the treasure, I should take 
him with me. | 

The last expedition in search of this treasure 





A TROPICAL ISLAND 25 


was led by Lord Fitzwilliam. Admiral Palliser 
and several others sailed with him on a boat, 
formerly a Donald Currie liner, the H arlech Castle, 
I believe. When they reached their objective, 
they thoroughly explored the island, and found 
only one inhabitant. This man, a German, had 
lived on Cocos sixteen years, and had tried his 
best to locate the treasure, without the least 
success. Fitzwilliam was unlucky. Soon after 
commencing operations, some of his party got 
hurt while blasting rocks. This nasty accident 
Jed to the premature abandonment of the quest. 
I told our mutual friend, Major Coleman, that 
next time his lordship made the attempt, he had 
better take me with him, and see whether Waldi- 
mar’s chart could put us wise. 

And now I suppose it is too late, that is if 
one can believe the newspapers. According to 
them Cocos has disappeared beneath the waves, 
one result of recent volcanic action. Still the 
papers are not always to be depended upon, as 
witness the report they gave credence to, anent 
Juan Fernandez. That emanated from a skipper 
who had lost his bearings. He failed to locate 
the island, so concluded it had subsided like Cocos 
is supposed to have done ! 

- Juan Fernandez came to be so well favoured 
with fruits of all sorts, through a regulation that 
was in force many, many years ago. This en- 
joined that every warship that visited the island 
to replenish its stores, should leave some acknow- 
ledgment in the shape of a sow in farrow, a goat 


26 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


in kid, a she ass in foal, some poultry, and so on. 
The skipper was also supposed to have some fruit 
trees planted for the benefit of wayfarers in general. 
This instruction was very well observed, hence the 
quantities of peach trees, cherry trees, quinces, 
and so forth, one meets with on Juan Fernandez 
nowadays. 

When I was there, wild horses were pretty 
plentiful. They were of a quality that rather 
surprised me, until ] came to know many of them 
were sired by a magnificent specimen of the pure 
Koklani strain. This beautiful creature was 
twenty-two years old, yet seemed full of vigour. 
He much reminded me of my grandfather’s 
dear old Saladin, the pride of Porthgwydden. 
Both were lovely specimens of the pure White 
Arab. 

These animals all belonged to the Government 
of Chile, likewise the wild asses and cattle. Any- 
one who cared to pay the Governor of the island 
£2 a head, could take his pick of the horses. 
Donkeys were so plentiful that every resident 
was permitted to have one gratis. I took ad- 
vantage of this privilege and had two, one for 
myself and one for Fisher. I also invested in 
six horses. ‘Three I left on the island, the other 


trio I shipped to the mainland on the Adriatico. 


Their fate I have already recorded. 

The Governor of Juan Fernandez at the time 
was Alfred von de Rodht, an Austrian of Swiss 
extraction. Von de Rodht was a charming 


fellow, a man of noble presence, and clever 


A TROPICAL ISLAND 27 


withal. He was great at languages, but his pet 
hobby was geology. In the Franco-Prussian 
war, De Rodht was wounded in the knee, so at 
the cessation of hostilities his father sent him 
over to Valparaiso to recuperate. Six weeks 
was supposed to be the extent of his tether, but 
Baron Alfred seemed inclined to extend it in- 
definitely, hence his father wrote to a friend, and 
inquired what was detaining his son. Then the 
fat was in the fire. It appears De Rodht had 
fallen head over heels in love with a very beautiful 
woman, who was noted as an exponent of the 
Quaker dance. Unfortunately she was a married. 
woman, and the husband, a Chilian sergeant- 
major, was in hospital with an injured leg. 
Directly old von de Rodht learnt how the land 
lay, he ordered Baron Alfred to return home at 
once. The parental summons being disregarded, 
he next called a meeting of the Rodht family at 
which Count Alfred was solemnly disinherited, 
and his brother Charles chosen to fill his place. 
Alfred thus lost his patrimony, but he received 
£16,000 cash, and an annuity of £200. With the 
cash he rented the three islands from Chile, ie. . 
Juan Fernandez, Santa Clara, and Mas-a-fuera, 
bought three decent sized ships, and engaged a 
hundred peons. When his father’s agents learnt 
what he had done, they told him he had acted 
foolishly, and that it would cost a lot of money to 
feed ahundredmen. They offered him 8 per cent. 
interest on his capital, and suggested he should 
be content to farm the islands. A staff of four to 


28 ADVENTURES IN PERU 
six men on each, they deemed sufficient for that 
purpose. 


Count Alfred disregarded their advice, and so 
far from drawing in his horns, added to his 
entourage, until he had altogether 118 men working 
for him. In the upshot he went broke. So the 
Chilian Government stepped in and commandeered 
some of his cattle for arrears of rent. Finally 
they made him Governor of the islands, at a 
salary of £50 per annum, plus £40 for acting as 
Postmaster-General. With this addition to his 
annuity, Count Alfred managed to knock along 
all right. He was offered several tempting jobs 


from time to time—one at Valparaiso carried with | 


it a screw of £40 a month—but he refused to 
entertain any of them. ‘“‘ Why should I go to 
the mainland,” he said, ‘‘ where everything is 
comparatively dear, when I can live in the lazy 
man’s paradise for next to nothing, and do just 
as I please ? ” 

Amongst the men with whom I had intimate 
business relations on the principal island, was an 
old fellow named Bruno. Like Arrendondo, he 
had been a whaler, and relinquished his calling 
for a similar reason. Bruno was brought up in 
the Argentine, and there learnt to throw the lasso 
with the dexterity that is only found among the 
natives and Gauchos. The latter are a most 
singular race. They consider it almost degrading 
to set foot on the ground. Hence their lower 
limbs are very ill-developed, and inclined to 


bandyness. Gauchos live in the saddle. They — 


A TROPICAL ISLAND 29 


will scour the rolling plains from morn to eve, 
without showing any signs of fatigue. Out of 
the saddle, they may be numbered amongst the 
most indolent of men. They don’t trouble to 
raise any vegetables or grain crops, and rarely 
think of milking their cows. Beef is their staple 
food. Between them and the Indians of the 
Pampas, a deadly hostility existed in former days. 
Weird and terrible tales are still told of the 
merciless deeds enacted. ‘T'o-day a better feeling 
is manifest, but even so there is not much love 
lost on either side. 

Undoubtedly the most skilled amateur lasso 
thrower of my acquaintance is Mr. Cunninghame 
Graham. Only the top-of-the-ladder men can 
take down his number. In a duel with the 
plainsman’s weapon, the average cowboy would 
stand a poor chance with him. He sits his horse 
like a centaur, and that is a great asset in lasso- 
throwing. 

Bruno used to charge £2 apiece for lassoing 
the island horses, and half that amount for 
catching donkeys. I got him to capture all the 
animals I wanted, including Fisher’s moke. I 
shall never forget what occurred when poor 
Waldimar essayed to ride this bundle of mischief. 
Up went his heels as high as a kite! He was 
jolly glad when I decided to relegate the jackass 
to cargo work! I found my two donkeys very 
useful in that capacity. 

Goats afforded most excellent sport. There 
were, I should say, 3000 or 4000 of them. Every 


30 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


person over sixteen years of age was entitled to 
one per week, free. Those under sixteen had to 
make half a carcass suffice. The goats had all to 
be shot. No one was allowed to run them down 
with dogs, and only the Billies were shootable. 
Arrendondo and his boys did very well out of 
these pretty animals. ‘Twice a week, on Tuesdays 
and Fridays, they used to stalk them, charging 
2s. for each carcass they obtained. I usually 
accompanied them on these expeditions, and 
enjoyed myself immensely. 

One way and another I had plenty of gunning. 
When I wasn’t after goats I took a turn with the 
blue Rocks. My big Ulm dog, Czar, always looked 
forward to these jaunts, and took his place in my 
flat-bottomed boat with an air of importance that 
was most amusing. 

Czar was a fine old boy. He retrieved beauti- 
fully. Harry Crangle, in his day the fastest 
sprinter in England, gave him to me, under 
circumstances that are worthrelating. His uncle, 
John Madden, owned a big estate midway between 
Valparaiso and Santiago. To replenish his stock, 


obtain bulls, rams, and so forth, he periodically 


visited the Old Country. Frequently these visits 
coincided with Harry’s appearance on the running 
track, and then, if his nephew felt fit and well, the 
old man used to put the stuff down to some order. 
When, however, Harry didn’t seem up to the 
mark, then Uncle John let him run loose. Alto- 
gether, Madden made a pot of money out of 
Crangle. But, unlike some avunculars, he was 





A TROPICAL ISLAND 31 


not ungrateful. For after awhile he sent for Harry, 
and told him he would see him right if he would 
join him in the New World. He was, moreover, 
as good as his word, for when the Pacific Steam 
Navigation Co. fixed up their quinquennial con- 
tract for live and dead meat, the old boy used 
his influence to secure it for his nephew. The 
backing he gave him—2000 cattle worth £10 apiece 
—doubtless affected the result. No better fellow 
could have got the job; for Harry was a white 
man all through, and a first-class sport. 

Czar was originally his yard dog. He gave 
£50 for him. No watchman was required on the 
premises, as the following incident will show. 
One morning Crangle’s head butcher went to the 
yard to see about twenty-two carcasses that had 
been deposited there against the departure of the 
home boat. When he entered the store-house, 
he saw a sight that made his eyes bulge. On the 
floor lay a man, dreadfully mauled about the arm 
and wrist. Alongside him was faithful Czar. 
The dog was absolutely quiet, but kept one paw 
on the man’s chest, as if to intimate that he was 
standing no nonsense. A rope depended from one 
of the carcasses, so the tableau explained itself. 

Crangle’s butcher soon communicated with 
his master and the police. The thief’s arm was 
found to be in so bad a way as to necessitate his 
removal to the hospital. While there, the man 
confessed to Harry, telling him, in the presence 
of Col. Sarratea (Chief of Police at Vina del Mar) 
and the doctor, just what had occurred. 


32 ' ADVENTURES IN PERU 


‘* There were three of us in it,” he said. ‘‘ We 
got a ladder and climbed the 20-foot wall that 
encircles the yard. Then I was let down on a 
rope. My job was to fix up one of the quarters 
hanging in the open shed so that my mates could 
haul it up, and me afterwards. I got down all 
right, and then I became aware of the dog. He 
looked a very good-tempered, kind sort, but, to 
make matters doubly sure, I offered him a mutton 
bone that we had ‘ readied.’ He wasn’t having 
any, however; so I got on with my job. The 
dog watched my proceedings in a kind of un- 
interested manner, and even let me handle the 
meat, without showing any sign of excitement. 
But directly I fastened the rope round one of 
the legs, he sprang on me, and bore me to the 
floor. Life is sweet, so I drew my long sheath | 
knife to defend myself. But I didn’t have an 
earthly chance of using it, for the dog seized my 
arm, and crushed it between his powerful teeth, 
until the weapon dropped from my grasp. Then 
he lay down beside me, with his paw on my chest, 
till the butcher found me next morning.” 

From data supplied by the man, we calculated 
the faithful animal had kept him prisoner 64 
hours ! 

A fortnight in hospital put the man in fairly 
_straight condition, and then he was placed in the 
dock. The judge who tried him insisted that 
Czar should be brought into court. He made 
much of him, and said if it had been possible he 


would certainly have awarded him a gold medal, 


A TROPICAL ISLAND 33 


and a handsome douceur. The injured man gave 
the names of his two accomplices, in considera- 
tion of which he got let off with three years’ hard 
labour, whereas they each had to do five. 

This experience quite put the wind up Mrs. 
Crangle and her mother, Mrs. Baynham. They 
couldn’t bear to be reminded of how near Czar 
had come to killing a man. So Harry passed him 
on to me, and I found him most valuable. 

Whilst I was engaged on breaking up the 
wreck, Kuhn busied himself making arrangements 
about his lobster project. He chartered the 
Pachuco. For this he had to pay £2000 a year— 
a large sum to risk certainly ; but he thought he 
could make that, and a bit more, by loading up 
from the mainland with passengers for Juan 
Fernandez. He reckoned that there were many 
folk who would jump at the chance of getting 
the trip, with four days thrown in on the island, 
for £40 a head. 

When he told me what he had done, I said, 
“Qld man, you'll lose your money, if you don’t 
watch it. You'll get passengers only in the 
summer months, and if, as is most probable, 
some of them find their tummies are not proof 
against the tumble and the tossing of the sea, 
they will put others off going. Then as regards 
the lobsters, a tank is essential for their safe 
conveyance; the Pachuco has none. How are 
you going to get over that ? es 

‘You standon me,” he replied. “ I’ve studied 


the subject thoroughly, and know all there is to 
| D 


34 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


be known about it. You are Al at training 
horses and keeping their legs in order, but 
lobsters De 

The air with which this harangue was delivered 
was indescribably funny. 

At his invitation I accompanied him on his 
first trip, “‘ just to learn how things are done,” 
as he put it. If I took advantage of the oppor- 
tunity to do a little business in the fern line, who 
shall blame me? One can’t make money standing 
around! Our cargo consisted of 1200 lobsters 
and 400 tree ferns. The shell-fish were distributed 
in large open crates so that they might be easily 
sprayed with sea-water from time to time. Our 
voyage only occupied three days, but when we 
reached Valparaiso all the lobsters had kicked 
the bucket, except one. ; 

After this experience, Kuhn took my tip, and 
approached the owners of the Pachuco about a 
tank. They expressed themselves very amiably 
over the matter, and said so long as the insurance 
company didn’t object, they were quite agreeable 
to his putting one in. Unluckily, the insurance 
people wouldn’t hear of it. They handed out a 
flat refusal. Poor old Kuhn! My prediction 
concerning the passengers was justified up to the 
hilt. The first batch, which included my good 
friend, Count von Koningsmarck, were sick all 
the way. The baron was so poorly that he could 
enjoy only one day goat-shooting with me, 
instead of the couple he had looked forward to. 

I had the laugh over Kuhn, for I made £250 — 





A TROPICAL ISLAND 35 


out of my ferns, whereas his lobster venture 
turned out disastrously ; after dropping £4000 
in twelve months, he abandoned it altogether. 

Von Koningsmarck was captain in the Prussian 
Guards, and personal A.D.C. to the Kaiser. He 
‘gave me once an instance of Wilhelm’s arrogance 
‘that is illuminating. One evening, after dinner, 
_K. ventured to question a statement his Imperial 
master had made about some subject that was 
being discussed—music, I believe. The Kaiser 
was greatly incensed. ‘“ Count Koningsmarck,”’ 
he thundered, “ you Will leave Germany this day 
week. Consider yourself banished until I give 
you permission to return.” K. bowed and left 
the palace. Within a week he was on his way to 
Chile. To save his face, it was given out that 
he had been lent to the Chilian Government as 
a cavalry instructor. 

K. had a private income of £25,000 a year, 
so was able to do himself pretty well. Colmo, 
the champion chaser, belonged to him, and 
he trained and rode the horse himself. In the 
saddle he adopted Tod Sloan’s style. He was 
the only man I have known who exploited the 
forward seat successfully over a country. Five 
years or so after he arrived in Chile, K. came to 
me, and said, “What do you think? The 
Kaiser has written and asked me to return and 
let bygones be bygones.” I forget what com- 
ment I made; but, anyhow, K. couldn't resist 
the reference to the friendship that formerly 
existed between them. So he went back to 


36 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


Germany. In the Great War Koningsmarck bore 
himself bravely; but, alas! met the fate allotted 
to many flying-men: his machine crashed through 
some structural defect, and he was picked up dead. 

There is plenty of provender for cattle on 
Juan Fernandez—any amount of grass and wild 
oats, also excellent tobacco which has a nice nutty 
flavour all its own. 

The temperature is very equable. De Rodht 
showed me his book, in which he had set down 
particulars for sixteen years, of readings taken 
daily at 8 a.m., 9 p.m., and noon. From this 1 
learnt the average temperature at 8 a.m. was 
62 degrees, and at noon 72 degrees. 

According to tradition five ship-loads of 
treasure lie buried somewhere near French Bay. 
Only a verysmall portion has ever been discovered. 
This was found by a Dane, who lighted on enough 
“red stuff’? to keep him in luxury till the end 
of his days. He bought a nice three-masted 
auxiliary yacht with part of the proceeds, and 
gave the man who put him on the right track a 
lot of provisions and £2000. I came across this 
other man one day, in fact, I did him a service— 
I cured him of his rheumatism. In return he 
disclosed to me the exact spot where the big 
hoard lies concealed. Owing to a family dis- 
agreement he had kept it secret from his sons. 

I lost no time in waiting about, but at once 
commenced making preparations for the fray. I 
fitted up my two donkeys with a kind of pannier 
for the conveyance of the necessary tools and 





A WATER-COLOUR SKETCH BY THE AUTHOR, OF THE OLD INCA CASTLE NEAR CAXAMARCA 


A TROPICAL ISLAND 37 


cargo, and made up my mind to take Fisher with 
me and camp out near the spot indicated, so that 
I could explore the locality thoroughly at my 
leisure. Unfortunately, just as I had completed 
my alrangements, Mariano Penny sent a note 
by the Chilian transport Angamos, the purport 
of which was, that as Zavala was giving up his 
horses, the writer would like to know what 
remuneration I would require to take his place. 
Thinking I might as well be hung for a sheep as 
for a lamb, I replied “‘ £100 a month,”’ and then 
dismissed the matter from my mind, never ex- 
pecting to hear about it again. My surmise was 
wrong, however, for ten days later Penny’s 
schooner hove in sight with another letter for me. 
Like the first it was written by his wife. It 
ran thus: ‘“‘ Mariano says if you will come at 
once, leaving the day after you receive this, he 
is willing to pay you £80 a month, plus 50 per 
cent. on all prizes the horses win. In addition 
he will give you £200 a year to look for old mines 
for him and Minchin, during December, January, 
and February. If you don’t care to do the 
prospecting, then you will have to go somewhere 
where.there is snow and ice so that you can keep 
yourself fit for the next racing season, as Mariano 
doesn’t want any sick man messing about with 
his horses. As regards entering horses, you can 
enter them wherever and whenever you like; but 
you must clearly understand, that if any horse, 
so entered, fails to get into the first three, Samuel 
Navarette, Mariano’s secretary, has strict orders 


38 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


to deduct £10 from your salary, each time it occurs, 
unless the jockey is proved to have been at fault, 
or something has happened in the race to prejudice 
the horse’s chance. This, of course, doesn’t apply 
to any animal entered at Mariano’s special request, 
or Minchin’s. Any horse outside his own that you 
may train with his approval, you will receive £10 
a month for, plus 25 per cent., or £5 a month and 
50 per cent.” 

On the face of it, the job looked a good one ; 
but one requiring very careful handling. I 
determined to accept it, and at the same time, 
made up my mind to be most circumspect. 

When I sojourned on the island there were only 
nine families in residence all told. They were of 
various nationalities. Two were Chilian, one 
Portuguese, one German, one Spanish, one 
French, one Italian, one English, and one Swiss — 
of German extraction—the last being the family 
of de Rodht, the Governor. 

The Italian had been banished for life from 
Chile. The Chilians had long suspected him of 
smuggling, and of receiving stolen goods. So 
they set a trap for him, and he fell into it. Some 
of the Angamos men were ordered to induce him 
to purchase of them some new ship’s stores— 
mattresses and so forth. They found him nothing 
loth. The same night police were sent to arrest 
him. When they arrived at the Italian’s resi- 
dence, he was enjoying his dinner in a room 
which commanded a view of the path the emis- 
saries of the law had to traverse. He told his 


” 


A TROPICAL ISLAND 39 


wife to admit no one. The police, however, 
insisted on seeing him; so he retired to his bed- 
room and locked himself in. The police followed 
him and demanded admittance. This he refused 
to grant. When the Government men purposed 
to break down the door, he threatened to shoot 
- the first man who crossed the threshold. Having 
reason to believe he would be as good as his word, 
the police resorted to a device they had put into 
operation on similar occasions. They bored holes 
in the bottom of the door, and set light to a con- 
coction of sulphur, red pepper, cotton wool, etc. 
The fumes they contrived to introduce into the 
Italian’s room. So effectual did this artifice 
prove that the Italian was soon glad to open the 
door. His arrest and trial followed, as a matter 
of course. The charge preferred against him was 
proved up to the hilt. When sentenced, he was 
given the option of being deported to Juan 
Fernandez, in lieu of serving twenty years’ im- 
prisonment. Like a sensible man he chose the 
island. 

The culprit was not devoid of good feeling, 
for he told his wife he couldn’t expect her to stick 
toa beggar-man; so the best thing she could do 
would be to apply for a divorce, and marry some 
other man better calculated to bring happiness 
into her life. His spouse was a most beautiful 
woman, and a wonderful musician. Moreover, 
her age was twenty-seven years less than her 
husband’s. Hence she would have experienced 
little difficulty in finding a suitable partner. 


40 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


But—who can gauge the strength of a woman’s 
love ?—this noble girl would have none of it. 
‘“ What!” she cried. ‘“ Forsake you now you are 
down and out? Never! I took you for good 
or bad, for richer or poorer. Where you go, I 
will go.”” So it came to pass that when the 
Italian was sent to Juan Fernandez, he did not 
go alone; his faithful wife accompanied him. 
She willingly turned her back on all the attractions 
of society for the sake of the man she loved. 

As may be imagined, the houses in which the 
majority of these nine families lived were quite 
unpretentious. Most of them were constructed 
of native-grown timber and corrugated iron 
imported from the mainland, but those belonging 
to Arrendondo, De Rodht, Correros, and myself 
were very nicely built. 

Fishing, catching lobster, extracting shark oil, 
and fish curing were the only industries pursued — 
by the inhabitants. Fonck exploited lobsters, 
and I dried fish. I tried to extract oil from cod, 
but failed. Unlike the Newfoundland and Nor- 
wegian varieties, its liver contained none. Shite, 
Fonck’s manager, and I used to open our stores 
every Saturday from 10 o’clock till 1 p.m., allowing 
all who required provisions to have them on tick. 
Owing to an old law permitting the sale of liquor 
only in those districts where there are resident 
police, none was allowed to be sold on Juan 
Fernandez. As there were no doctors, so there 
could be no frail women. Male offenders against 
public morality were punished by five years’ 


A TROPICAL ISLAND 41 


imprisonment on the mainland. Females got a 
similar stretch in the House of Correction. 

My own views as regards alcohol are these. It 
is a thing sent for our use, it is of incalculable 
value in tropical countries, but its abuse is to be 
deprecated. I felt that a certain amount of alcohol 
was an absolute necessity for the male residents 
at least, so I had no compunction in giving such 
of my customers as I judged would make proper 
use of it, a small quantity from time to time. 


CHAPTER III 
THE HAUNT OF THE BUCCANEERS 


UAN FERNANDEZ took its name from the 
man who discovered it in 1563, together 
with the sister islands of Santa Clara and 
Mas-a-fuera. He was a Spanish pilot. 

In consideration of his enterprise, the Govern- 
ment leased Juan Fernandez to him. He soon 
tired of his bargain. Subsequently, Captain 
Stradling of the Cinque Ports galley, had a 
disagreement with his crew when in these waters, 
and as a result, forty-five men deserted and 
took up their abode on the island. In February, 
1700, Dampier called there. All but five of the 
adventurers joined his ship. In October, 1704, 
the Cinque Ports returned to ascertain the fate 
of the men who remained on the island. Only 
two survived, the other three had been captured 
by the French between whiles. 

On the occasion of his second visit, Captain 
Stradling again experienced trouble with his 
crew. In this latter instance, however, it was 
confined to one man only, Alexander Selkirk, 
upon whose experiences, real and imaginary, 
Defoe based his engrossing narrative of ‘“‘ Robinson . 


Crusoe.”’ 
42 


THE HAUNT OF THE BUCCANEERS 43 


Selkirk said that, rather than serve longer 
under Captain Stradling, he would prefer to live 
on the island. Stradling took him at his word, 
and put him ashore with a small quantity of 
stores and provisions. Before the ship weighed 
anchor, Selkirk repented his hasty decision, and 
begged hard to be taken off again. His prayers 
fell on deaf ears. He was left to work out his 
salvation in solitude. To this little incident 
boys owe the most fascinating book ever written 
for their benefit. But for it, Selkirk’s name might 
never have been inscribed on the Roll of Fame. 
For more than four years he had to be content to 
make the island his abode. He was finally taken 
off by the Duke privateer under Captain Wood 
Rogers, February 12th, 1709. 

In 1868, the officers of H.M.S. Topaz affixed a 
copper tablet to a huge rock on top of a hill to the 
right of the Yungue, whence a beautiful view of 
the sea can be obtained, north and south. This 
spot is known as Alexander Selkirk’s Look-out. 

' The following is the inscription: “ In memory 
of Alexander Selkirk, a mariner, native of Largo 
in the County of Fife, Scotland, who was on this 
island in complete solitude 4 years and 4 months. 
‘He was landed from the Cinque Ports galley of 
96 tons and 10 guns, A.D. 1704, and was taken off 
by the Duke privateer 12 February, 1709. He 
died Lieut. of the Weymouth 1723, aged 47 years. 
This tablet was erected on Selkirk’s Look-out by 
Commander Powell and Officers of H.M.S. Z'opaz 
A.D. 1868.” 


Ad ADVENTURES IN PERU 


In 1668 the buccaneer Sharp anchored in 
Cumberland Bay, and found seals on shore in 
large numbers, together with many sea lions. 
Wild pigs were also so abundant that, besides 
what they killed for their immediate sustenance, 
they salted down 100 carcasses. 

In 1687, five men of a pirate vessel, commanded 
by Captain Edward Davis, voluntarily took up 
their abode on the island. They remained there - 
until 1690, when they were taken off by Captain 
Story of the Welfare. 

Buccaneers frequently made Juan Fernandez 
their rendezvous, and, there seems little doubt, 
deposited some of their ill-gotten gains there. 
An old Chilian supplied me with particulars of 
an incident that supports this view. In 1716, 
so he said, his grandfather had told him, a barque 
unloaded several boatloads of treasure there, the 
operation being superintended by a Spaniard, 
who was reputed to be a grandee. He and a 
black remained behind to see to its safe disposal. 
Six months later, the barque brought another 
cargo of booty. No sailor was permitted to leave 
the ship, except those who manned the boat or 
carried the treasure ashore. After the plunder 
had been shared out, the leader of the buccaneers 
had it hidden snugly away. At the entrance of 
the cache, he buried an axe, a cutlass, and a crow- 
bar. Near by is the grave of his slave companion, 
who died from the effects of a blow sustained 
during a quarrel with his brother pirates. An 
ancestor of my Chilian friend helped bury this man. 


THE HAUNT OF THE BUCCANEERS 45 


Anson, who anchored in Cumberland Bay to 
refit his shattered squadron in 1741, found large 
quantities of vegetables growing in wild luxuriance, 
including cabbage, celery, watercress, radishes, etc. 
Before leaving, he added to the resources of the 
_ island by planting peach stones and cherry stones 
all over a wide area. He thought Juan Fernandez 
a most charming spot. Probably through his 
representations when he reached home, some idea 
of forming an English settlement was entertained. 
Spain got to hear about it; and in 1750 took formal 
possession of the island. Later on, when Chile 
threw off the Spanish yoke, it passed into her 
charge. 

For much of the foregoing information, I 
am indebted to my good friend De Rodht. 

A few years ago Penny commissioned me to 
approach the Chilian Government, to see if they 
would sell him Juan Fernandez for £100,000 ; 
but I did not succeed in my mission. I was told 
the Chilians did not wish to part with a place that 
had such historic associations. In the event of 
their ever changing their mind, there was only 
one nation they would be disposed to treat with, 
viz. the English nation. 

In 1818, Chile was using this island as a con- 
vict settlement. By the year 1820, the population 
included three hundred malefactors and one 
hundred soldiers. There was no fear of any food 
shortage, as besides plenty of vegetables and 
fruit, the island was well stocked with wild 
cattle, sheep, goats, pigeons, etc. 


46 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


An Englishman, by name Sutcliffe, was 
appointed Governor in 1835. This was the year 
of the great earthquake. Following on the 
tremors, came a huge uprising of the sea, which 
swept away all the buildings near the beach, 
save only the Government House, fort, and 
erections situated higher up. I was courteously 
permitted by De Rodht to peruse the official 
account of this terrifying experience, written by 
Sutcliffe himself. 

In 1840, the convicts were transferred to the 
mainland, and anyone who liked could then lease 
the three sister islands from Chile. Santa Clara, 
situate only half a mile away from Juan Fernandez, 
is treeless and waterless. Plenty of grass grows 
there, however, thus affording plentiful provision 
for a multitude of wild goats. 

Mas-a-fuera is ninety miles further off. Here 
again goats are as plentiful as pebbles on a beach. 
Luxuriant grass and babbling brooks ensure their 
well-being. Many hawks may be met with. 

Besides paying rent for these islands, the 
lessee had to maintain a small steamer, or a 
sailing barque, in order to communicate with 
the mainland every six months. I took up this 
project once, and dropped about £300. Had I 
been able to secure a partner to go shares, I think 
I should have come out all right. | 

The landing at Mas-a-fuera is very bad, much 
worse, in fact, than at Juan Fernandez. There 
were no inhabitants when I visited the island ; 
but in the sealing season the sealers make it one 


THE HAUNT OF THE BUCCANEERS 47 


of their resorts. I have participated in some of 
the hunts. It is fine sport, clubbing the seals as 
they emerge from the caves. But it is not child’s 
play, for if you do not hit them a good hard crack 
over the head, they make no bones about bowling 
you over. The pelts of these seals are very 
valuable. The fur is of a rich coffee colour. 
Every two or three years the sealing rights are 
put up to auction. 

During one of these expeditions, we came 
across three wild pigs. I shot one and had part 
of it cooked. The flesh was in appearance all 
one could wish for, but oh, the flavour! Manuel 
Correro, a Portuguese who accompanied me, 
thought he had never tasted anything more 
horrible. I don’t think he was far wrong either. 
The animals had evidently been feeding on the 
carcasses of sharks, which had been left to rot 
on the beach, after the oil had been extracted. 
_I never remember eating better pigeons. Their 
flesh was delightful. I put that down to the 
great quantities of cranberries, cherries, and rasp- 
berries they had consumed. 

The rent of these three islands is 7500 dollars, 
I should say. If a sailing ship is kept in lieu 
of a steamer, it must not be less than a 700- 
tonner. 

Selkirk is supposed to have lived in a cave a 
good long pull up from the look-out, but I don’t 
subscribe to that opinion. He might have used 
it aS an emergency resort, but was much more 
likely to take up his abode in one or other of 


48 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


the half-dozen or so that occur at the foot of 
the hill, near the tablet. They look much nicer. 
Fresh water is close to hand, and any amount of 
delicious fruits. Moreover, it involves a climb 
hardly worth mentioning. 


CHAPTER IV 
SEA SERPENTS AND SEA TREASURES 


ANY people say the Sea Serpent is 
all bunkum, and they are welcome 
to their opinion. On land, in the 
Temperate Zones, creeping things 

are small, and, speaking generally, of no account ; 
but in the Torrid Zone they attain a tremendous 
size. Snakes are to be found in the Narrow 
Seas; hence I cannot, for the life of me, see 
why monster serpents should not exist in Equa- 
torial waters. I got my first glimpse of the 
Great Sea Serpent in 1901, when voyaging off 
the Island of Fernando de Noronha. Fernando 
de Noronha, so called after its discoverer, is about 
five miles long and three miles broad, and is 
situated east of Brazil. It is a convict settle- 
ment, and: is infested with rats. 

Four years later, at practically the same spot, 
it was my good fortune to be favoured with 
another sight of this wonderful creature. I was 
then taking a trip in a P.S. N.C. boat which 
called at Fernandode Noronha. We left the island 
about midday. Lunch was served, as usual, at 
one o'clock, but I didn’t attend, as I was getting 
fit for crossing the High Andes yet again, to 

49 E 


50 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


revisit the Sacambaja River and the Caballo 
Cunco Hill. So I contented myself with a few 
cold beef sandwiches and half a bottle of beer. 
Soon after I had finished my frugal repast, I 
distinctly saw the Wonder of the Seas. It 
appeared about fifty yards ahead of the steamer, 
on the port side. It had a head as big as a cow’s 
head, and its body looked as large round as a 
flour barrel. I only saw one coil of the latter, 
and that was a matter of eight to ten yards away 
from the head, and raised above the water a 
foot or so. 

When the captain—a Liverpool man—and 
the other passengers came up, I told them what 
I had seen. The captain said tome: “ Prodgers, 
if I didn’t know you very well indeed, and were 
not quite certain you had taken no extra cocktails 
before lunch, I should think you had seen double. 
Man and boy, I have sailed the seas these many 
years, but I have never yet cast eye on any sea 
serpent.” He was, however, fain to admit that 
he had often heard of the monster, and that my 
description of it tallied with what he had been 
told. : 

It will be remembered that the late Earl of 
Crawford, when on his fine auxiliary yacht the 
Valhalla, fourteen miles from the coast near Para, 
had an experience on December 7th, 1905, similar 
to that recorded above. It was also on this trip 
that I heard, from a passenger named Campbell, — 
there was an island called Trinidad, south of — 
Bahia, where treasure is supposed to be buried. 


SEA SERPENTS AND SEA TREASURES 51 


Campbell told me that during 1903 he formed one 
of a party who visited the island to which I have 
referred. The captain of the schooner they went 
in, claimed to know the exact spot where the 
treasure was buried. They reached Trinidad 
all right, and spent three days in getting their 
stores ashore, and putting up a rough hut as a 
shelter. Unfortunately, whilst they were thus 
engaged, their leader had an attack of yellow 
fever; so they decided to get back to Bahia as 
soon as possible in order that he might receive 
proper medical attention. But all was in vain, 
and the poor fellow died without revealing the 
treasure’s hiding-place. Strange to say, about 
ten or twelve years ago I came across an old 
document that seemed to confirm Campbell’s 
tale. It was given me by a man whom [I had 
befriended when he was down and out—when he 
had nothing to do, and nothing to live on. His 
fair-weather friends had all forsaken him. Some 
even said they didn’t know him. He applied to 
me as a last resort, and J told him he could go 
to a small house I owned on the isle of Juan 
Fernandez, and live there rent-free till something 
turned up. This house, as already related, 1 had 
taken in part-payment of my fee for superintend- 
ing the breaking-up of the three-masted schooner 
Adriatic, of which more anon. 

I used to keep several boats at this place, 
and have enjoyed many a pleasant hour, standing 
in a flat-bottomed punt to shoot Blue Rock 
pigeons. This man, by the way, also claimed to 


52 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


know of treasure buried at Itaperica; but the 
data that old Waldimar Fisher, who lives at 
my place in Juan Fernandez, supplied me with, — 
refers to the one buried in the Isle of Trinidad, — 
south of Bahia. 

At Valparaiso I transferred to the Guatemala. 
Unfortunately the weather was pretty bad when 
we reached Mollendo, and the water was so rough 
that the passengers and mails had to be hoisted 
from the vessel in baskets and let down into 
surf-boats, and thus conveyed to shore, This 
method of landing is frequently adopted on this 
coast. It has its attractions for those who can 
find a basket to fit them. There was a bit of a 
difficulty in my case; so I decided to stick to the 
boat until she reached Callao, where 1 had some 
business to transact with a gentleman who was 
interested in tin. We arrived there in due 
course, and I went to see him. The proposition 
he wished to discuss was being worked on a 
very small scale by one man, with the assistance 
of two Indians. It was located three days’ mule 
ride from Sicasica. He received me most hospit- 
ably, and, after thoroughly going into the matter, 
agreed to give me the sum of £300 if I would 
visit the mine and report fully upon it. I was also 
to have 25 per cent. of the profits, if he decided 
to take it up. | 

I started back to Mollendo on the Huascar. 
This time the sea was calm, and so we landed 
without any difficulty. I stayed that night and 
the next day at the Hotel Ferro Carril. There 


SEA SERPENTS AND SEA TREASURES 53 


I met a fellow called Boynton. He was the same 
Boynton who once started to travel round the 
world wheeling a barrow for a bet of £10,000 to 
£200, he to pay all his own expenses. He 
failed, simply through contracting an LKastern 
fever, which laid him by the heels for a matter of 
three months. It left him so weak that he had 
to give up his project. Otherwise, he thought, 
he would have succeeded. Boynton was on his 
way back from Arequipa, where he had been 
prospecting for gold. He had some pretty good 
samples with him, and hoped to find a company 
who would take an interest in them. Whether 
he ever succeeded, I do not know. Previously, 
he had been secretary to Lord Headley, who was 
engaged by a Peruvian Rubber Company in 1903 
to report on their estate. Lord Headley told me 
they paid him £5000 to carry out this work and 
remain there six months, which wasn’t bad pay. 
When first approached, he said the job didn’t 
appeal to him; but he changed his mind when 
he knew the munificent offer they were prepared 
to make, and took on Boynton. How and why 
they eventually parted company is a tale I may, 
perhaps, tell another day. 

Bubonic plague greatly troubled the West 
Coast of South America when I was at Mollendo. 
The owner of the Central Hotel had it, and was, 
in consequence, isolated by the authorities in a 
building they had set aside for the purpose, at 
some little distance from the town. This plague 
attacks one either in the groin or in the neck. 


54 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


They say it can be cured by a simple operation, 
if only the groin is affected ; but when the neck 
is involved, then, Goodbye everybody! ‘There 
is no rule, however, without an exception. This 
chap had bubonic in his neck, bad as could be; 
but, somehow or other, he managed to pull 
through. | 


CHAPTER V 
A JOURNEY INTO THE INTERIOR 


LEFT Mollendo by the eight-thirty train 

on Wednesday morning, and arrived at 

Arequipa at six-thirty the same night. 

Next day I happened to meet my friend, 
the consul for Uruguay and Peru. It ap- 
peared that he also was interested in the 
Province of Inquisivi, and intended to take the 
Peru and Bolivia train, leaving Friday morning 
at eight for Puno, the terminus, situate on the 
banks of Lake Titicaca. So we agreed to travel 
together. A description of Titicaca was given 
in my Adventures in Bolivia, hence I need only 
add that one of the islands near the peninsula 
of Capacabana is held specially sacred by the 
natives. For, according to their most highly 
respected traditions, it was here that Manco 
Capac and his consort founded their glorious 
empire. Here may be seen the ruins of an old 
monastery, which was in existence when the 
Incas came and conquered the Huancas. There 
are stones in this great building, weighing twenty 
tons at least. Alongside the principal doorway, 
there is one still standing that I should put at 

55 


56 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


twelve tons. Five hundred priests, I believe, 
are attached to this monastery. 

At Puno I met a Russian Count and his wife, 
who were accompanied by a Baron von K , who 
acted as secretary to the Count. They had been 
exploring the sacred isle, and intended to extend 
their trip as far as the great gold river, Tipuani. 
Unfortunately—so I heard later—the way up 
the Sorata Pass proved too much for the Countess 
and the Baron. So the whole party had to return 
to Puno. The Count stood it better than the 
others, and naturally so, for he was a big fellow. 

Crossing the High Andes by the Pass of 
Sorata is no joke for a woman; in fact old 
Naboa told me that in all the sixty years he had 
been acquainted with that district, he had heard 
of but one lady who had accomplished the feat. 
She was a Countess—Countess M. Pll call her— 
who had run away from her husband with a Baron 
R. The Count, it appears, followed them with 
his revolver, intending to shoot the guilty pair 
when he came up with them. The runaways 
put in six months at Tipuani. Baron R. occupied 
himself prospecting for gold, three miles from the 
village. He engaged six natives and four West 
Indians to dig and wash for him. One day a 
West Indian told him a Gringo Caballero, i.e. a 
foreign gentleman, lay very sick of fever at 
Gritado, a place ten miles the La Paz side of the 
river. Baron R. took pity on the sick man, 
and started off at once in search of him, accom- 
panied by the Countess and six Indians with a 








INDIAN WOMAN OF THE HIGH ANDES NEAR CUZCO AND PUNO 





A JOURNEY INTO THE INTERIOR 57 


stretcher. It was intended to fetch him home 
to their place, and nurse him back to health. 
They found him, lying on a mattress, in a hut 
belonging to a man called Ricardo Rodriguez. 
Picture their surprise when he turned out to be 
no less a person than Count M. himself! The 
situation was most embarrassing ; but Baron R. 
and the Countess made the best they could of it, 
and gave the sick man every attention; so that, 
within a little while, he became convalescent, 
and fit to be removed to their place. There 
they nursed him back to health; explanations 
were given and received, and, ultimately, all three 
became reconciled and left Tipuani together, 
apparently on the best of terms with each other. 

We travelled from Puno by the lake steamer 
to Quaqui, and then took train to La Paz Alto. 
Thence we journeyed by coach as far as La Paz. 
Following my usual custom, I put up at the 
Hotel Guibert, and persuaded the consul to do 
the same. The proprietor was absent in Europe, 
but I was glad to hear the Jura baths had quite 
rid him of his rheumatism. In return for my 
advice about taking the Jura cure, he made me 
free of his house—a very pleasant and delicate 
way of expressing his gratitude. 

We stayed here five days, while the consul’s 
buggy horses rested. They had come up from 
his mine near Incasiva. I occupied myself in 
getting five cargo mules, and two for saddle- 
work. The latter were beautiful creatures, and 
cost, in English money, £30 apiece, or half as 


58 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


much again as the cargo mules. I named them 
Batson and Charlie, after two mules that took 
my fancy in a Barbadian tram-car. Batson was 
black all over; Charlie, chestnut, with dark 
chestnut mane and tail, and a black mark right 
down his back. I loaded up the cargo mules 
with provisions—not forgetting to include some 
old Madeira, half a case of whisky, six bottles 
of old port, and several pots of Liebig’s extract— 
and sent them on ahead to Sicasica, ninety miles 
away. I followed three days later, by the dili- 
gence that runs twice a week between La Paz and 
Oruro. The driver was an Indian, famed. for 
being extremely punctual. On one occasion, it 
is said, he refused to wait more than five minutes 
for his boss, who had arranged to travel with 
him. The laggard, as mail contractor and so 
forth, was a pretty big bug in his way. I occupied 
the box-seat on the trip referred to. I was on 
my way to Oruro—the racing season in Chile 
having concluded—to call on my friend and 
patron, Mariano Penny, previous to my starting 
on an experimental trip over the Andes, in search 


of some old mines that had been worked by the © 


Ancients, and lost to sight for many years. Well, 
we started without the boss, and in due course 
arrived at a place about ten miles from La Paz 
Alto. Here we stopped fifteen minutes to change 
mules. Before this operation was completed 
who should appear upon the scene but the missing 
man! He had driven a four-horse buggy at a 


furious pace all the way from our starting- 


A JOURNEY INTO THE INTERIOR 59 


point. Much to my relief, he did not rave at 
the driver, but, on the contrary, made him a 
present of five dollars for sticking to his time 
schedule. 

I travelled so often with this Indian that 
we became quite good friends. He sometimes 
handed over the ribbons to me, while he chucked 
stones at the mules to induce them to show their 
best paces. Full lick we would go over the Camp, 
taking boulders, ruts, and holes in our stride. 
There was no road, properly speaking, but only 
a track beaten down by the traffic. We often 
passed lamas loaded with corn and. attended by 
Indians, who looked very picturesque in their 
different coloured ponchos and caps made of 
lama or vicuna wool. The Indians never start 
their llamas on a journey before 9.30 a.m. They 
march on till 3.30 in the afternoon, resting for 
rather less than an hour midday. Ordinarily a 
Hama should cover twelve miles a day, and carry 
from 35 to 50 lb. Some of the biggest can manage 
75 Ib. ‘These are highly valued by their owners. 
On short journeys, when employed to convey gold, 
silver, tin or copper ore down from the mines, 
a lama is often burdened with 100 lb. 

When I reached Sicasica I found no difficulty 
in getting accommodation. As a matter of fact, 
the President of Bolivia had most courteously 
directed the proprietor of the hotel to reserve 
his best room for me; and further, he had sent a 
letter of introduction to Don Fillipi Rameres, 
the Corregidor of a village a day’s ride nearer 


60 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


Vera Cruz. When I asked the proprietor if 
he had a bath, so that I might enjoy my usual 
morning tub, he said he hadn’t. got one, the cold 
was so intense people didn’t use them. ‘‘ But,” 
he continued, “if you like, Pll tell one of my 
Indians to put a bucket of cold water in your 
rubber bath at seven o’clock in the morning, so 
that you may have a sponge.” This arrange- 
ment suited me admirably. 

Next day I resumed my journey after break- 
fast, and in due course reached the point I aimed 
at—a fair-sized Indian village in the Vera Cruz 
range. It is situate about 12,500 ft. above sea- 
level. Some of the surrounding peaks tower up 
to 18,000 ft. and 19,000 ft. The Corregidor 
seemed to be a very decent chap, of the Mountain 
Indian breed. He placed his drawing-room at 
my disposal, together with a corral for my mules — 
and a kitchen for my boys. He also engaged me, 
later on, an Indian and his wife and her sister 
to accompany me—the man to act as guide, and 
to assist with the cargo; the women, who were 
not at all bad-looking, to attend to my personal 
wants. 

I stayed here four days, buying of the Corre- 
gidor barley-grain in the straw for my mules, 
and five sheep to be made into challona, for use 
on the trip. They weighed about 60 Ib. apiece. 
Our meals, so far as I was concerned, consisted 
of bacon and eggs for breakfast, Irish stew for 
lunch, and Irish stew for dinner at 7 p.m. The 
Indians had the same, barring the bacon and eggs. 


A JOURNEY INTO THE INTERIOR 61 


Every morning about 7.30 or 8 o’clock 1 used to 
go down to the river, which was only about two 
hundred yards off, to have my morning dip. As 
the water was always frozen over, I had to bathe in 
one or other of the holes broken by the Indians, 
before I could enjoy my bath. As usual, I dried 
myself inthe sun. Some little distance away there 
was a cliff, and upon this I noticed a lot of Indian 
women and boys sitting, the first morning I 
made my appearance in the river. They seemed 
to take a great interest in my proceedings. On 
the third morning, when I returned to the Corre- 
gidor’s house after my bath, I saw forty or fifty 
Indian women squatting down on the opposite 
side of the road. They were making no noise 
whatever, but simply waiting—waiting for me, 
if you please. 

When I entered the house the Corregidor said, 
“T have an amusing thing to tell you.” 

“¢ What is it ?”’ I inquired. 

“You see all those women out there ? Well, 
they tell me that the Gringo—meaning you— 
appears to be a very nice sort of chap, but evi- 
dently a bit touched in his head. For on three 
successive mornings he had gone down to the 
river, taken off all his clothes, and sponged him- 
self with the icy cold water; so they wished me 
to hand him over to them to be taken care of.” 

In common with most Indian tribes, ‘these 
good folk regard the mentally afflicted with a cer- 
tain amount of veneration; hence their request 
was really nothing out of the ordinary. I have 


62 . ADVENTURES IN PERU 


no doubt they were quite prepared to carry out 
what they offered to do, namely to cook and fend 
for me in every way, while I would be free to 
enjoy myself as I thought fit. I was curious to 
know what answer the Corregidor had made. 

“TI told them,” he said, “the man you speak 
of is a friend of mine. He is staying with me, 
and is not the least bit off his head. What you 
have seen him do down at the river, is his usual 
custom. Within a little while, he will be back 
in the house, and I will then tell him what you 
say. If you will wait a bit, you shall know Wiese ; 
he thinks of it.” 

Of course, I could not entertain the offer made 
by these kind-hearted females, for the staff 
already engaged by my friend the Corregidor, 
was ample for my requirements. But I could 
not help feeling flattered by the interest they 
took in me, for if the group included a sprink- 
ling of withered old women, the majority were 
robust and well set up, and some of the girls 
very good-looking ! 

Next day, soon after breakfast, I started on 
the last lap of my journey, expecting to reach the 
workings of my Lima friend, near Tres Cruces, 
in a couple of days. I took with me a letter of 
introduction from the Corregidor to a friend of 
his, who kept sheep and alpacas—chiefly alpacas. 
He was a Peruvian, and owned farms in both 
Peru and Bolivia. He lived for the greater part 
of the year on his Peruvian estate. About three 
o’clock in the afternoon we got caught in a terrific 


A JOURNEY INTO THE INTERIOR 63 


hailstorm. The hailstones were as large as 
marbles, and the mules wouldn’t face them. I 
turned Batson’s stern towards the storm, which 
lasted a full hour and a half. Muffled in my 
Irish cloak (a fine affair I had bought at Sandy- 
point, and big enough to cover me and the mule), 
we suffered no inconvenience whatever. But 
the delay proved awkward, because night over- 
took us ere we reached the farm of Guiterrez. 
About half an hour after we had resumed our 
journey, Batson suddenly pricked up his ears 
and broke into a jog trot. The mules, headed 
by my chestnut as bell horse, followed suit, 
likewise the Indians. Very soon we discovered 
what had occasioned this singular manceuvre. 
Within a quarter of an hour, up loomed a big 
building out of the darkness. It was one of 
Guiterrez’s barns. His house was close by. We 
knocked at the door, and Don Ramon himself 
answered the summons. I handed him Rameres’ 
letter, which he read, and at once extended his 
hospitality. Dinner, he said, would be ready in 
about half an hour, and he would be very pleased 
if I would join him. I gladly accepted the kind 
invitation, for I was feeling pretty well famished. 

During the meal, which I thoroughly enjoyed, 
Ramon told me that pumas had been troubling 
his animals a lot. Within the previous three 
weeks, they had killed three young colts of very 
fine pacing breed. He had tried to poison the 
marauders, by putting stuff on a dead carcass, 
without the slightest effect, for they had left the 


G4 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


bait severely alone. I told him that was quite 
usual, wild beasts very seldom go for any prey 
that has been doctored. At the same time, I 
considered it would be futile to sit up and watch 
an animal that had been killed by jaguar or 
puma, unless it had been left lying with its right, 
or liver, sideup. JI first learnt this truth from a 
book, entitled “‘ Leaves from a Sportsman’s Diary,” 
written by a colonel who had been a great shikari 
in India, and I had proved its worth on several 
occasions. Ramon invited me to stay and have 
a cut at the pumas. I told him nothing would 
give me greater pleasure. A week or a fortnight 
occupied in ridding him of these pests would be 
time well spent. 


CHAPTER VI 
HUNTING PUMAS AND GUANACOS 


EXT day I went round the estancia 
and had a look at Don Ramon’s 
alpacas. He lent me a fine pacing 
horse for this purpose. My animals 

in the meantime were turned out where there was 

plenty of excellent pasture. 

The alpacas were exceptionally good. Most 
were of a mixed colour ; several were pure white ; 
only a very few were black. These animals are 
bred for their wool, which is extremely fine, and 
expensive to buy. Carosses, Le. rugs, are made 
from their skins. Their flesh is highly esteemed 
by the natives. In flavour it comes between 
goat and mutton. White alpaca rugs are worth 
money. I have frequently brought some home 
and sold them for £40 and £50 apiece. Black 
alpaca rugs fetch much more, being rarer. My 
favourite is the white variety. Odd bits of 
alpaca skin, left over from rug-making, are made 
up into foot-warmers. The alpaca is built on 
the same lines as a guanaco, but somewhat 
sturdier. Like the llama, it is indigenous to 
Peru and Bolivia. 


Ramon was good enough to sell me three 
| 65 F 





66 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


white alpaca rugs for £20 apiece. One I gave 
to my father; the others brought me in £100. 
Since the Great War the prime cost has increased 
50 per cent. or more. 

The following morning, just after breakfast, 
one of Ramon’s Indians brought word that a 
cow had been killed by pumas. His dogs had 
chased the raiders to a hill about two miles from 
the estancia, where there were a lot of rocks and 
several small caves. Don Ramon had a very 
fine strain of Borzoi, and five hounds beside, 
that he had bred by mating one of the Borzois 
with a wild-dog bitch. He had captured the 
latter a few years previously when hunting 
guanacos. He shot her mother as she came 
rushing out of one of the self-same caves where 
the Indian had now located the pumas. Close 
by he found a litter of pups, which he took home 
and brought up by hand on milk. There were 
five in all. Ramon gave two away, but retained 
two dogs and a bitch for himself. The dogs 
he kept separate by themselves; the bitch he 
put to one of his Borzois, with the result already 
mentioned. 

Well, we started off without delay after the 
pumas, taking with us the five hounds and their 
parents. I rode a grand chestnut pacing horse, 
bred by Ramon, and he rode a bay. They both 
showed plenty of quality and blood. The Indian 
trotted on ahead, until we arrived within about 
three hundred yards of the caves. We then 
dismounted, and, while he held our horses, 





HUNTING PUMAS AND GUANACOS 67 


stalked our quarry cautiously. The well-trained 
dogs followed at our heels until fifty yards or so 
from the rocks. Ramon then laid them on the 
trail. They quickly picked it up; but though 
they nosed about for an hour, and searched every 
corner and hole, where even a cat might hide, 
they found nothing. So we remounted our nags, 
and rode off to another mix-up of rocks and caves 
about a mile and a half away. We hadn’t ridden 
half a mile before the big Borzoi dog, Czar, gave 
tongue, followed at once by Florita, the wild-dog 
bitch. How I longed for my galloping chestnut, 
for though the pacers could pace eight or nine 
miles an hour, they couldn’t gallop for toffee! 
At any rate the dogs quite outdistanced them. 
On reaching the rocks we dismounted, and 
in the usual South American way, threw the 
reins over our horses’ heads to the ground— 
having, of course, unbuckled them first. There 
was no fear of the horses getting away: they had 
been trained to stand until the reins were picked 
up. The dogs were now barking furiously out- 
side a long, low cave that looked most forbidding. 
None of them appeared anxious to enter, but 
Ramon persuaded the big Borzoi to go in, About 
two minutes later, out rushed three pumas. 
Ramon was standing about thirty yards away 
from the cave, and I about the same distance 
to the left of him. He had his Martini and I 
my father’s 16 double-barrelled Holland and 
Holland. The biggest puma was one of the 
largest I had ever seen. I was fortunate enough 


68 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


to get him with my first barrel. With the other 
I fired at another puma not quite so big. My 
bullet broke his leg, and the dogs soon put an 
end to him. Don Ramon accounted for the 
third puma. He hit it in the ribs and it got 
away; but we followed its trail on our horses, 
and after a lovely ride of five miles or so, over the 
High Flats, caught up with it in a small valley 
leading towards a distant range of mountains. 
Our dogs flung themselves on to their quarry. 
Then ensued a rare rough and tumble. Brought 


to bay, the puma fought desperately. Spitting - 


and snarling like a fiend incarnate, she threw the 
dogs off again and again. But they would not be 
denied, and, although more than one was severely 
mauled, pressed home the attack. At last Florita, 
snapping up a favourable opportunity, dashed in 
and seizing the puma by the throat, hung on till 
she had torn a hole in its windpipe. Ramon was 
very glad when the end came, for he was fond of 
his dogs, and we had not dared to fire a shot for 
fear of hurting them. 

Had Ramon been using my weapon, the puma 
would never have got away at all. Don Lisandro 
Mendizabal, who was a great friend of his, told 
him he wouldn’t mind going anywhere with my 
rifle, because it made so big a hole, nothing 
could stand up against it. 

On our way back to the estancia, we each 
fired two shots at some big condors, three of 
which were flying overhead. Don Ramon missed 
altogether; but I was lucky enough to break 


HUNTING PUMAS AND GUANACOS 69 


the wing of a big male bird with my second shot 
and so brought it to the ground. We waited 
till the Indian came up, and left it in his charge. 
He skinned the bird and preserved it “ Indian 
fashion,” in order that I might take it home as a 
trophy to my father. It measured 9 ft. 7 in. 
from tip to tip of its expanded wings. Don 
Ramon showed me one in his drawing-room, 
that went exactly 11 ft. 7 in. That also was a 
male bird with a white collar. The different 
varieties of condor are fully described in 
’ Adventures in Bolivia wherein is quoted Baron 
yon Humboldt’s description of these wonderful 
birds. Mr. Hudson, the great authority on South 
America, wrote me on three separate occasions 
about the Condor Real, or king of the condors, 
a bird reputed to be pure white. He doubted 
the existence of such a bird, and suggested that 
if one really existed, it had probably grown 
white with age. Not long before his death, 
however, he was good enough to write and say 
certain facts had come to his knowledge which 
convinced him that I was right in contending 
the Condor Real is a distinct species, and a pure 


_ white bird. 


Don Ramon persuaded me to prolong my stay 
so that I might help him get some guanaco and 
vicufia skins, the former to make mats with, and 
the latter, rugs. 

It was a very jolly experience. We started 
off, attended by four Indians, Ramon riding a 
pacer, and I my galloping chestnut. The Indians 


~~ 


70 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


were mounted on mules and carried bolas, a 
kind of lasso made of raw hide. At one end 
of the bola are two thongs. On each of these 
a wooden ball about as large as a cricket ball 
is threaded. At the other end of the bola—which, 
by the way, is about two yards long—another, 
but smaller wooden ball depends from a two-foot 
thong. The bola is used as follows: The Peons, 
when the animals they have rounded up are 
comparatively still, ride at them, swinging their 
bolas as they go. This starts them on the run ~ 
again, when the Peons throw their bolas, aiming 
to entangle the animals’ feet. Some are so expert 
that they rarely fail to accomplish their purpose. 
A couple of hours’ ride brought us to the 
grazing ground of the guanacos. It was in a 
beautiful valley, about 10,000 ft. above sea- 
level. We soon sighted a herd of fifteen, and 
went after them full lick. I easily took the lead, 
and soon had to steady my horse so that Ramon 
and the Indians might get into line with me. 
The sandy soil, which carried barely sufficient 
herbage for ostriches, afforded pretty good gallop- 
ing ground, so we streaked along at a tidy pace. 
But after twenty minutes or so my weight began 
to tell, and then my gallant steed didn’t need 
much steadying—he steadied himself. The big 
Borzoi led the other dogs, a good fifty yards up 
the Flat. By and by the Indians caught up with 
the dogs, and got quite close to the guanacos, - 
who finally came to a standstill on a green patch 
which was fifty yards square, or thereabouts. 


HUNTING PUMAS AND GUANACOS 71 


The hunted animals turned round and lined up 
like a regiment of soldiers, gazing about them in 
an inquiring kind of way, as if to say: ‘‘ What 
is all this commotion about; and why do you 
follow us ?”’ 

Now was the time for our bola throwers! 
In they rode, whirling their bolas in the air as 
they went. Meantime, Don Ramon and I dis- 
mounted, and took up @ favourable position 
whence we might get a shot at the guanacos 
when they stampeded. The animals kept their 
formation until the Indians were within seventy 
yards of them ; then they broke and fled. Ahead 
of them in their line of flight was a cleft in the 
rocks. But it was too small for them to get 
through; so they took a half-right turn, and 
made for the hills. In anticipation of this 
manoeuvre, the Indians had galloped off to the 
left, in order to intercept them, and, as they 
passed at a distance of about fifteen yards, threw 
their bolas. Good luck attended their efforts. 
They brought two of the animals to the ground, 
and soon administered the coup de grace. Don 
Ramon and I killed a couple more with our 
rifles, and, as the survivors were gaining the 
shelter of the hills, let fly at the two hindmost. 
I sighted at 300 yards and was fortunate 
enough to hit my guanaco in the thigh, so that 
it had to hop along on three legs. Ramon missed 
his. We despatched two of the Indians to track 
down the wounded animal, while the others 
proceeded to disembowel the four we had already 


72 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


secured, preparatory to loading them up on their 


mules. In about an hour’s time we sighted 


the trackers returning over the foothills, one 
leading his mule with the dead guanaco on 
top. 

‘A very successful hunt,” said Don Ramon. 
The meat would come in very handy to help 
feed the twenty families that he kept on his 
estate ; and the skins would make some beautiful 
mats. We saw only five vicufia on this trip, 
and they were too far off for us to fire at with 
any hope of success. 

Guanaco hunting with expert bola throwers 
is most exhilarating sport, if one has a good horse 
under you, and decent galloping ground to ride 
over—almost as inspiring as riding after the 
rhea, or wild ostrich, in the Argentine. Not 
quite so fascinating, however, as the pastime 


I enjoyed on Hamilton Langley’s estate, where 


I learned how to run an estancia. I got “nowt,” 
as the Yorkshiremen say, for wages, during my 
apprenticeship, and had to find my own grub 
and horseflesh. 

Langley was a fine horseman, a grand rider 
over any kind of country ; and with him hunting 
was a passion. He kept a pack of dogs, con- 
sisting of two staghounds, and four of the grey- 
hound lurcher type. I had a similar lot of 
lurchers, a prize-bred French pointer, and a 
King Charles. The latter was a smart little 
chap, and absolutely fearless, as the following 
incident will show. 


Pee gate ke 
pha he 
Se ee tao 


HUNTING PUMAS AND GUANACOS 73 


_ One day my groom came to me about 8.15 a.m., 
full of news about a tiger cat. He said it was 
the biggest he had ever seen and that it had just 
run into a clump of bushes not far away. I called 
up my dogs, and, six-shooter in hand, proceeded 
to the spot indicated. I tried my best to per- 
suade the big dogs to try and rout the tiger cat 
out; but they didn’t relish the task. Imagine 
my surprise when the little King Charles dashed 
into the clump, and drove the cat out into the 
open! The other dogs then joined in the fray, 
and soon settled matters to their entire satis- 
faction. My lurchers and Hamilton’s dogs made 
up a useful pack, and we used to put them on 
the scent of any mortal thing that came our way. 
Deer, however, provided our chief diversion. 

On one occasion, I remember, we got to the 
end of Langley’s big paddock, or potrero, and 
found the gate closed against us. The boss 
promptly put his horse at it, and landed over in 
magnificent style. We, who were not 80 well 
mounted, had to open the gate and ride through. 
My horse was of the half or three-quarter type 
raised by the late William Kemmis. When 
sent to England they fetched good prices as 
high-class hunters. Lots of fellows of my 
acquaintance had, at various times, hunters 
bred by Kemmis or Langley on shares, ie. they 
kept them and rode them for several months, 
and then sold them. What they got over and 
above the original price, they divided with the 
owner. The usual figure the breeders charged 


74 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


was £100. In the days I am speaking of, there 
were heaps of wild horses in the Argentine. 
When I took up my quarters at Bella Vista, I 
bought seventeen (“‘al corte’) for £2 apiece ; 
and was extremely gratified to find that three of 
them were up to my weight. Six others made 
fine carriage horses, after they had been broken 
in. I frequently drove them in my big, heavy 
dog-cart three at a time, native fashion, i.e. one 
in the shafts, and one on either side of him. 
The way they went hell for leather over the 
Camp was a sight for sore eyes! 

Before proceeding further, I ought, perhaps, 
to explain the meaning of al corte. The words 
are the Spanish equivalent for “as they come.” 
A number of animals are driven out of a herd 
of maybe five hundred, into a corral. The gates 
are then closed, and the Peons, with much crack- 
ing of whips, induce the horses, or mules, or 
what-not, to stampede round the corral. When 
they have got pretty lively, the gate is suddenly 
flung open. Then one has to look smart, or 
you'll get overwhelmed in the rush. Note par- 
ticularly the first ten animals that come out. 
They are yours, if you are the fellow who is 
buying. In that little lot you may get several 
horses-—if horses are your game—worth £20 
apiece. On the other hand the majority may 
consist of useless yearlings, and one or two 
old brood mares. It is all in the luck of the 
deal. ; 

When I bought my horses two separate 


HUNTING PUMAS AND GUANACOS 75 


hundreds were driven into the corral. I had ten 
out of the first hundred, and seven out of the 
second. Only three were “ stumers,” and these 
I turned over to my groom, who found them 
very useful for rough work. 


CHAPTER VII 


THE TRES CRUCES MINE 


EXT day, after thanking Don Ramon 

for his hospitality, and for giving me 
_ so enjoyable a time, I started off for 

the camp at the foot of the mountains 
near ‘Tres Cruces. Here a man named Donovan 
kept a little store, and worked a tin mine for 
my Lima friend. This same Donovan was one 





of the first to come to La Paz and congratulate 


me when I returned from my momentous journey 
to Challana. Readers of my Bolivian adventures 
may remember that I had passed through some 
ticklish experiences, and had been reported dead. 

Donovan greeted me warmly, and said he 
had been expecting me for several months, his 
boss having apprised him of my coming to pros- 
pect around. I was to make his house my 
headquarters. This abode comprised two rooms 
and a kitchen, all built of solid stone. The 
walls were two feet thick or more; and the 
whole was roofed with corrugated iron. Donovan, 
I found, had only two Indian assistants. He 
said the store wouldn’t run to more; his takings 
barely sufficed to pay their wages and provide 


grub for himself and them. I could quite believe 
76 


THE TRES CRUCES MINE 17 


this, for the nearest hut was eighteen miles off, 
and his only likely callers would be prospectors. 

Well, I started work with his two Indians 
and my three. Nine-thirty every morning saw 
me hard at it, taking samples where I thought 
proper, both on my Lima friend’s property and 
on the virgin soil belonging to the Government 
of Bolivia. 

All went well for the first five days. Then 
two Indians went sick and had to rest in camp 
for the best part of a week. Three days later, 
another Indian got the “megrims.” He, of 
course, had to be excused. This sort of game 
became the vogue. I seldom had my full com- 
plement of men. The reason for this is a simple 
one. The Indians in Bolivia and Peru are mostly 
“ Colonials,” i.e. their owner or master, or what- 
ever you like to call him, provides them with 
everything they want in reason ; they, for their 
part, do all the farm work on half-shares with 
the owner of the estancia. Every year, after 
the harvest is safely gathered in, accounts are 
balanced up, and any surplus is divided equally 
between master and man. If the harvest has 
been a poor one, and the balance is on the wrong 
side, so far as the workers are concerned, then 
the debt is wiped out, and the position is “As 
you were.” This system suits the “ Colonials ” 
very well; so well, in fact, that they rarely 
trouble to seek work outside the boundaries of 
the estancia to which they belong, except for 
a very special purpose, like mine at Sacambaja. 


78 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


Those pretty gentlemen wanted something store- 
keeper José hadn’t in stock—one a red shirt, to 
cut a dash in, and another a sewing-machine | 
for his wife—so their headman told me. 
Donovan’s Indians were of the same kidney. 
Directly they had made sufficient money to 
satisfy their special needs, they returned to 
their master’s estate. I was thus frequently 
left with only my three Indians, one of whom was 
my personal attendant, whose duty it was to help 
me drill whatever lode I was prospecting. 

Round about this district I found the tem- 
perature pretty cold. During my two months’ 
stay here the thermometer ranged between 4 
degrees and 32 degrees in the shade, and 
4 degrees to 8 degrees below zero at night. 
You can imagine how delightful it would have 
been for me to come home after a hard day’s 
work in the mountains, and find a nice roaring 
fire in my room. But not a bit of it, no such 
luxury was provided. There wasn’t even a fire- 
place! My Lima friend had never visited 
Donovan’s. I often wished he had. I’m sure 
a week in that cold atmosphere would have 
made his hair curl! He paid me, however, to 
go there for him, and paid me well, so I mustn't 
grumble. With the exception of Sundays and 
seven days when I went guanaco hunting for 
the camp, i.e. the Indians, Donovan and 1 were 
content to feed off challona and martinette. 
I generally potted this bird on the ground. 
“* Pots’ are the order of the day in out-of-the- 


THE TRES CRUCES MINE 79 


way places. One has no use for fancy shooting. 
I also got some wild duck from a small lake in 
the vicinity. They don’t seem to frequent any 
water above the 12,000 ft. mark; their billet 
ranges from 9000 ft. to 12,000 ft. On one 
occasion I shot a few wild geese. They were 
pure white, and afforded fairly good eating, 
i.e. the young ones, but the old birds were tough 
as hemp. 

Only two of my seven trips after guanacos 
proved successful. On these occasions I bagged 
one each time. On three others I drew blank, 
through shooting badly; and twice I quite 
failed to get within range of them. I happened 
once upon a herd of vicufia, however, as I turned 
the corner of a valley through which a mountain 
stream ran. I raised my rifle to fire, but they 
looked so beautiful that I felt I could not pull 
trigger on them. Besides martinette I came 
across a few woodcock occasionally in this valley. 
Once I shot a martinette as it was running, and 
two woodcock squatting on the ground; but 
missed a woodcock on the wing, and two others. 

Talking of shooting, I once met a fellow who 
was looking for mines in the district of Incasivi. 
He was a crack revolver shot, and brought down 
bird after bird. I travelled with him three days. 
Never once did I see him miss his mark. 

Lots of white and yellow flowers grow upon 
the sides of the mountains in this district. They 
are very similar to those one meets with in the 
Alps. The late Bishop Brown, of Bristol and 


80 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


Gloucester, who was a famous Alpinist, showed 
me some he had brought home from Switzerland, 
and one could hardly tell them from mine. The 
scenery was sublime. On every side glorious 
snow-capped mountains towered up to the sky, 
clothed in a profusion of tussock grass about 
two feet long, and very coarse, but the mountain 
cattle and sheep seem to thrive on it. This grass 
extends to within 2000 ft. of the snow-line. 
Guanacos and vicufias were plentiful. So unused 
to man were they that one could get quite close 
to them without attracting their notice; hence 
securing meat for the camp presented no diffi- 
culty. I saw many foxes. They were of a 
greyish colour. I shot several, sufficient to make 
me a fine poncho or cape, which I still possess, 
It is very warm and comfortable. Originally 
a number of tails depended from it, but in 1922 
I induced a Berkshire lady friend to remove 
them, as they inclined to make the cape look 
too conspicuous for English wear. 

Some years after I visited Donovan, white 
fox and black became all the rage. Even 
Chilian, Peruvian, Bolivian foxes, and those of 
the Andes, came into favour. They were trapped 
or shot in thousands by the Mountain Indians, 
and their pelts sold at £1 apiece. I never saw a 
white fox in the Andes. The Andean foxes are 
mostly grey, with fine, long brushes. One I 
remember very well indeed—a very cheeky fellow. 
I was sitting outside my camp at night, after 
dinner, waiting on the off-chance of getting a 


THE TRES CRUCES MINE 81. 


puma, the spoor of which one of my Indians had 
discovered close by. All of a sudden a great, 
reddish-grey dog-fox stepped out from some 
bushes, and stood looking at me. He had an 
immense brush, the longest I think I have ever 
seen. I could have shot him easily, but I let 
him go free, as I didn’t wish to frighten any 
pumas that might be lurking about. Indians, 
like those in the Yllimani and Ylliampo ranges, 
live chiefly on wild guanaco meat—with an 
occasional buck thrown in—guinea pigs and 
potatoes. Although they all keep sheep, and 
used to sell me some at 4s., 5s., and 6s. apiece, I 
never saw them kill any for themselves. But 
they always expected the insides of mine in 
return for killing, skinning, and fixing up for 
challona. 

After spending eight weeks in this exhilarating 
atmosphere, where the blue sky is always visible, 
save when overcast by an occasional hailstorm, 
and the sun shines all day long, I collected my 
samples and took them to a friend of mine, a 
Mr. Horne, who was employed by M. M. Penny 
and J. B. Minchin as an assayer. I had, as usual, 
placed them in separate sacks, with a ticket 
giving particulars of where I had found them, 
and at what height. It took him three days to 
examine and test my little lot. His report was 
most satisfactory, so I attached it to mine, and 
hied me away to my friend in Lima. 

On my way back over the Andes to Sicasica, 
I called on Don Ramon, and put in three days 

G 


82 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


with him. We had another hunt after pumas, 
but failed to locate any. At our parting, Ramon 
presented me with a magnificent rug, composed 
of white alpaca skins. This I gave to my father 
when I returned to England. He was very 
proud of it, and showed it to.many of his friends 
and acquaintances—to Lord Methuen, among 
others. That gallant officer was charmed with 
it, and told my father it was the king of rugs. — 
To buy these rugs, whether white or black, one — 
has to approach the Mountain Indians, men 
who don’t give much away. Nowadays they 
have a much keener sense of values than when 
I first made their acquaintance, twenty odd 
years ago. The skins cost them nothing, but 
they have to be cured in a special manner, and 
properly dressed, before the various suitable 
portions are ready for making up. Then the 
putting together has to be taken into considera- — 
tion. People who have never seen this process 
would be amazed at the skilful handiwork of the 
Indian women. 


CHAPTER VIII 
INCA TREASURES 


DECIDED to break my journey at Tia 
Huanaca, where I got a very nice room 

at an Indian’s house. I catered for myself 

and the Indians whom Rameres had pro- 

cured for me. (They were to be disbanded at 
Huaqui.) My object in going to Tia Huanaca 
was to search for Inca relics. All the land round 
here, right up to the lake, belonged to my good 
friend and patron, General José Pando, President 
of Bolivia. He gave me permission to explore, 
prospect, and excavate anywhere on his property 
where I thought something of Man’s handiwork 
lay hid. The only conditions he imposed were, 
that I should prove to his satisfaction that I had 
sufficient capital to employ the requisite number 
of men, and that I would let him see whatever 
was uncovered during the operations. Pando 
himself wished to share in the profits, or losses, 
of the transaction, and thus was prepared to 
fulfil the obligations imposed by the Mining Laws. 
I spent a week in one of the houses belonging 

to the head Indian of the district. It is his son 
who is seen standing alongside the colossal statue 
represented opposite page 84. The old Indian's 

83 





84 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


name was Pablo Guiterez. He was full of 
information respecting the ancient remains that 
are to be met with on every side. The principal 
were called, so he told me, the Ruins of the 
Gentiles. 

It must have been originally a stupendous 
place, this ancient Peruvian palace. The inner 
courts are 360 ft. square, and composed of 
tremendous stones, some of which weigh 60 or 
70 tons. 

According to well-known authorities these 
buildings and the big images—which are carved 
out of the solid rock—were anterior to the time 
of the Incas. They are very similar to those 
one knocks up against on the sacred island. 

Day after day Pablo and I, and his two sons, 
and two other Indians used to ride over to some 
old forts about five miles distant from his house. 
There were natives living close by, as was indeed 
the case with most of the ruins we visited. As a 
consequence I was often able to purchase relics 
they themselves had come across. Among many 
items of interest that I acquired at Tia Huanaca, 
was a card case of delicate filigree work. This 
was a personal gift from Pablo. It is a delightful 
example of the silversmith’s art. 

Besides the forts, we visited numerous other 
likely places. Sometimes our luck was in, some- 
times it was out. At one spot that looked very 
promising, we dug away for two days and found 
nothing. We were more than compensated for 
this disappointment, however, by a nice little 





REMAINS OF PRE-INCAIC CIVILISATION NEAR THE RUINS OF THE GENTILES 
TIAHUANACO, BOLIVIA 








INCA TREASURES 85 


find that we made when striking across country 
towards La Paz Alto. Whilst we were engaged 
upon a mound Pablo had pointed out, we hit 
on what seemed like an old well. Before we 
gained access to it we had to remove a lot of big 
stones, and finally a pretty large slab of slate. 
After that we dug down a good five feet or more 
through loose earth and stones that packed the 
steyning of the well, which was very nicely built 
of stones and bricks, intermixed. At the bottom 
of the hole we found a bag of raw cowhide, 
similar to those made by Indians of to-day around 
Jumbez and Titicaca. It was sewn together 
with leather thongs, and the hairy side was out- 
side. ‘There is no doubt this kind of bag is much 
handier than the ordinary valise for travellers 
in the bush. The one we found was black with 
age, but for all that, in fairly sound condition. 
Inside it were a number of old silver orna- 
ments. 

When I told General Pando of our good fortune 
he said, ‘‘ Keep the lot, my boy, and try and form 
a company to take the matter in hand on a big 
scale. I shall get Pablo to fossick about and 
find some more relics for my own collection.” 
This was very good of him; it gave me a fine 
start and encouraged me to acquire other speci- 
mens of ancient art work. I laid out £100 with 
Don Pablo, paying him at the rate of half a 
crown an ounce for old silver articles that he 
had dug up from time to time. Altogether I 
rounded up a nice little lot, 


86 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


I took toll from Inca ruins in other places 
besides Tia Huanaca, e.g. at Pachacamaca I 
lighted on many interesting things, manufactured 
of silver and gold. Amongst the most notable 
were a miniature lady’s slipper, artistically 
fashioned of silver filigree, and a marvellously 
fine model of a soldier in solid gold. The uniform 
depicted is very similar to that Pizarro’s men 
used to wear. It stands about three inches 
high, and the plinth is encrusted with brilliants. 
I had my father’s crest engraved on the base and 
gave it to him. At his death it reverted to me. 
After selling £700 worth, I still had a tidy lot 
left over. Some of these I distributed among 
my friends, but the majority I gave to my parents, 
who had two tables set apart in the drawing- 
room at Kington, upon which they were displayed, 
and very proud of them they were. 

The specimens I retained for my own pleasure 
would delight the heart of any student of anti- 
quities. At times I am inclined to regret having 
parted with so many choice relics of old-time 
civilization at bargain prices, especially when 
experts call me an old fool for my pains, but 
still the satisfaction of finding them was worth 
the sweat, and it isn’t as if there were not plenty 
more where they came from. 

Among the many interesting things I collected 
were several stone axes, and one made of tempered 
copper. I am one of the very few men who 
know the Inca secret method of tempering copper. 
The tools they and the Aztecs manufactured from 


INCA TREASURES 87 


this metal were keen as any made of the very 
best steel. 

It was very cold here at night, and, like 
Donovan, all the inhabitants seem to consider a 
fire quite unnecessary. The atmospheric con- 
ditions were very similar to those I encountered 
in the district of Tres Cruces. During the day- 
_ time one didn’t notice the cold so much, because 
of the brilliant sunshine; nevertheless it was 
freezing hard all the time. It may seem strange, 
but it is a fact, notwithstanding, that at Cerro 
Volcan and Cerro San Pedro, two peaks on one 
side the great Atacama desert, a thermometer 
placed in the shade would register three or four 
degrees below zero; and when shifted not a 
hundred yards into the sunshine, would run up 
to seventy-five degrees above. On one or two 
occasions my instrument registered eighty degrees. 
This was in 1921, when I went to collect samples 
of the beautiful Chinchilla pelts, with a view to 
opening up business with several of the leading 
furriers in London. 

Tia Huanaca is 12,500 ft. above sea-level. 
At Huaqui I met my friend Bruce, formerly 
third officer on a P. 8. N. C. liner. He had 
surrendered that position to become mate of 
the Puno, one of the steamers that ply on the 
sacred lake. This boat was built in sections at 
Glasgow, and fixed up at Titicaca. 

Bruce was considering an offer, which would 
place him in charge of a tug on the San Domingo 
River, used for dredging gold for the San 


88 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


Domingo Mining Co. I intend to refer to these 
famous mines when I deal with mining in 
Chapter XVII. The story of how Major Gibson, 
of the English Guards, discovered them is worth 
telling. — 

It was on this particular occasion, that I also 
ran up against my old friend Lord Headley. I 
accosted him with, ‘“‘ Hulloa! my lord, and what 
are you doing here?” He replied, ‘“ Hulloa! 
my boy, and what are you doing here? Pros- 
pecting and looking for mines on Mariano Penny’s 
account, I suppose ? ” 

“ Not this time,” I rejoined. ‘ Penny has 
given me leave to look up a tin proposition for 
a Lima friend.” Lord Headley then explained 
that he had come to Titicaca to get his skin 
cured of an affection he had contracted on an 
expedition undertaken on behalf of the Peruvian 
Rubber Co. It was a kind of rash on the back 
of his hands. When Headley consulted the 
family doctor on the subject, that worthy said, 
“It is no use your coming to me. We English 
doctors can do you no good. You must go back 
to the country whence you came. Go you to the 
curative springs Prescott speaks of, near Lake 
Titicaca,”’ | 

Headley told me he had been there a fort- 
night, and was now intending to return home. 
I advised him to defer his departure a couple 
of months, and give the Jura baths a turn. 
“ Hire one of the village huts,” I said, “ pot 
ducks, enjoy the enchanting views of the sacred 


INCA TREASURES 89 


lake and the majestic snow-capped Yllimani 
and Ylliampo mountains, and Jura will do the 
rest.” Doctor Parvin, the justly celebrated 
practitioner of Lima, says no skin disease can 
resist the Jura waters, taken in combination 
with the exhilarating atmosphere of the Andes. 
(This gentleman also attributes the immunity 
from contagious diseases, enjoyed by people 
living in these high altitudes, to the fact that no 
fleas, sandflies, or insects of any description are 
to be found above 7500 ft. My own personal 
opinion is, that all insects perish at about 6000 ft. 
Bugs, of course, excepted—those enterprising 
cavaliers seem proof against both cold and heat! ) 

Lord Headley took my advice. Two years 
later I came across him at the Great Western 
Hotel at Southampton. He was just off to 
Florida, hoping to enjoy some tarpon fishing, 
which was his great hobby. That he might be 
free from molestation, he had bought an island 
off the coast. He thanked me for my prescription, 
and said it had put him quite right. 

Well, I reached Lima in due course and 
showed my samples to my friend. He had them 
tested by the Government assayer. The results 
were as follows: Samples taken at the 9000 it. 
level, showed 5 per cent. of tin, those taken 
at 12,000 ft., 15 per cent. The percentage at 
15,000 ft. was 25 per cent.; and at 16,000 ft., 
60 per cent. This report was shown to J. B. 
Minchin, than whom few people in the wide 
world know more about tin. He was of opinion 


90 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


that my find was a rich one. The great trouble 
with tin is that, in the majority of instances, it 
appears only on the surface, or a few feet below. 
Now my samples gave good results from 9000 ft. 
right up to 16,000 ft.—proof positive that the 
lode was deep, and the proposition good enough 
for any company. 

My friend experienced no difficulty in dis- 
posing of his rights. Jackson gave him £2000 
for them, on behalf of a syndicate he represented. 
I had the satisfaction of receiving £500, plus £300, — 
which represented my commission and expenses. 

I sold my mules to the manager of a gold 
mining company for work in the mountains 
near La Paz. He paid me, with very great 
pleasure, £220 for them. So I made a profit 
over the animals of £60, after having had the use 
of them for six months. Altogether I did fairly 
well out of the transaction: One of General 
Pando’s aides-de-camp took charge of my chestnut 
hurdle-racer for me, until I required him again, 
often riding him at reviews. 

My jumping-off points for Bolivian expedi- 
tions undertaken on behalf of M. M. Penny and 
his friends, were La Paz, Oruro, or Cochabamba. 
When I went into Peru I invariably started 
from Puno or Arequipa. 

I kept a favourite mule, called El Pasha, at 
one or other of these places. It took its name 
from a celebrated horse belonging to Emilio 
Casal, owner of the famous sprinter Huron. 
This animal was never seen to best advantage 


INCA TREASURES 91 


in a race, unless El Pasha accompanied him to 
the post. The two invariably started off well 
together. El Pasha couldn’t live with his com- 
panion more than three furlongs. When he 
died out, Huron used to sail away on his own, 
no matter how heavily burdened in handicaps, 
and win weight for age races, hard held, by one 
or two lengths. Bismarck was the only horse 
with any pretensions of tackling him in the last- 
named sort of race. I only saw Huron run 
twice without El Pasha, and he seemed to go 
with less dash than usual. One race he won by 
a neck; the other he lost by a head. As a con- 
sequence, Don Emilio decreed that El Pasha 
should, ever after, accompany Huron to the post, 
and not run in inferior class races. This was a 
bit hard on him, for he was a champion in minor 
events. 


CHAPTER IX 


THE CITY OF THE KINGS 


ERU is one of the most interesting countries 
in the world. The climate is ideal. The 
sun shines all day long and the weather 
is always fine. Yet there is no lack of 

water, for the rivers are fed by the snow which 
dissolves on the Andes, the mighty range of 
mountains that runs parallel with the coast from 
end to end of this delightful country. All kinds 
of fruit grow to perfection on the slopes of the 
Cordilleras—fruits of every clime, and the ordinary 
necessaries of life cari be obtained for next to 
nothing. Perpetual Spring prevails in the valleys. 
Up to 1824, what is now called Bolivia was 
included in Peru. In consequence of Sucre’s 
victory over the Spaniards on the plains of 
Ayacucho, December 9, 1824, the country gained 
her independence, and was divided into two 
separate Republics, viz. Upper Peru, or Bolivia, 
and Lower Peru, now considered Peru proper. 
The mention of Peru makes one’s thoughts 
naturally turn to Lima, accounted the most 
fascinating city of South America, next to Mexico, 
and well named the City of Kings. I became 


acquainted with it, in the first instance, when I 
92 


THE CITY OF THE KINGS 93 


brought some horses over from Chile for Zervallo, 
C. Watson, and A. B. Leguia. To visit Lima had 
been to me a long-cherished wish. 

Among the many interesting objects that attract 
attention is the beautiful cathedral, built by 
Pizarro, so it is said, after he had conquered the 
Incas. Queen Isabella of Spain sent him a fine 
statue of Santa Rosa, the patron saint of Lima, 
to place therein. Adjacent to it were a barrow of 
silver, worth 1000 marks, thirteen arrows, equal- 
ling 1002 marks, and twelve lamps, valued at 
732 marks. The altar front was of silver, worth 
297 marks, and 411 marks’ worth of the same 
precious metal was used to make the Virgin’s 
throne. Santa Rosa is rather more than life-size, 
and is reputed to be made of pure gold. 39,500 
ounces of silver were distributed over this won- 
derful figure, in addition to 1406 diamonds, 624 
rubies, 1179 emeralds, and a bewildering galaxy 
of amethysts, pearls, and topazes. Many of these 
gems have disappeared, filched from their resting 
place. Pizarro fenced the statue round with pure 
silver, taken from the Incas at the time of Atah- 
ualpa’s murder, the space thus set apart being 
about 20 ft. square. 

Pizarro’s remains are preserved in a glass case 
in the cathedral, the door of which is mahogany. 
The conqueror of the Incas is shown dressed in 
full uniform, the head being secured to the body 
with silver wire. 

No visitor should miss Zervallo’s fine picture 
gallery, which was bequeathed to him by his 


94 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


father, a grandee who had to leave Spain, because 
his political views clashed with those of the 
Government then in power. In his will the old 
nobleman stipulated that his son should never 
part with the collection for a less sum than 
£100,000. He was not to sell one picture, or 
two, or three; it must be the whole lot, or none, 
the sum thus realized to be invested, and held 
in trust for the Zervallo family. The collection 
is housed in a large building. Some of the most 
interesting pictures refer to incidents in the con- 
quest of Peru by Pizarro. One, fresh in my 
memory, represents Atahualpa being carried on 
a litter to Caxamarca. It is a matter of history, 
that his great ancestor, Huayna Capac, built a 
wonderful road from Cuzco to Caxamarca, a 
distance of 1500 miles, levelling mountains and 
filling up valleys to do so. In places it was 40 ft. 
wide, and is to this'day regarded as affording 
incontrovertible proof of the astounding engineer- 
ing skill of the Incas. | 

An American once offered Zervallo £600 if he 
would give him the first refusal of the paintings, 
and close the picture gallery six months, in order 
that he, in the meantime, might try to induce his 
people in New York to purchase the contents. 
Zervallo complied with the request, but, much to 
the American’s regret, the deal never matured. 

The captain of the Ingomar, a vessel I 
frequently travel upon, told me that, however 
often he called at Callao, he never failed to visit 
the Zoo at Lima for the purpose of seeing what 


THE CITY OF THE KINGS 95 


he deemed the most magnificent lion he had ever 
cast eyes on. I quite agree with him. I have 
seen many lions in various public and private 
collections—including those in the Zoological 
Gardens, London—and in their native state in 
South Africa, but none to compare with the 
Lima specimen. Doubtless the lovely climate has 
a lot to do with it, for it suits him down to the 
ground. This majestic creature has a most 
imposing head and mane. His skin is sleek as 
silk, and, although he must be very old, he exhibits 
not the slightest trace of mange. I have known 
him twenty-two years, and more. 

Another great sight is the Bull Ring. Here 
some of the most famous Spanish matadors and 
toreadors are engaged six months of every year. 
I knew the principal matador very well. Although 
an old man—he told me he was seventy-two—his 
skill was marvellous. He always despatched his 
bull with one thrust, and not with two or three 
like some of the less skilled matadors. When the 
great beast made his rush, old Mariano didn’t 
run about all over the ring as some do; no, he 
just turned elegantly on his heel, and then got 
in his stroke as the bull plunged past him. 
He made the killing of the animal look a very 
simple matter, and one of the softest jobs imagin- 
able. Really it is a very difficult operation, and 
attended with great danger. 

- Some of the best pacing horses in Peru partici- 
pate in the Lima bull-fights. The ritual observed 
at these functions is as follows: When the 





96 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


toreadors, matadors, and horsemen enter the ring, 
the master of the ceremonies—always magnifi- 
cently horsed—rides up to the President’s box, 
and makes a profound obeisance. The bull- 
fighters all follow suit, the President having 
previously taken his place, heralded by a flourish 
of trumpets. Two trumpeters, stationed at the 
entrance, now sound a blast, the big door of 
the enclosure beneath the boxes is flung open, and 
out rushes a fierce beast into the arena. It is 
an Andalusian bull, one of a breed originally 
imported from Spain, and is credited with being 
one of the fiercest creatures on earth. If one 
_ shows any lack of courage, he is hooted out of 
the ring. A bull, in 1900, cost 700 sols, ie. £75. 
It is doubtful whether its value has increased since 
then in the same proportion as a sheep at Lam- 
bourn, Berkshire, England, where a local butcher 
tells me he now has to pay £7 10s. for what used 
to cost him 37s. 6d.” | 

Bull-fights are often condemned as dangerous, 
but in most of the rings in South America the 
fighters are so adept that although they ride close — 
up to the bull, and excite him to fury by flaunting 
a red cloth, it is seldom that they, or their steeds, 
sustain any hurt. The only ones who get into 
the wars are the new, or raw hands. 

In my opinion Mariano was the prince of all 
the matadors. He was a great lover of pacing 
horses and Cleveland bays. He used to ride a 
fine pacer, and was often to be seen driving a 
pair of Clevelands that he had bought at Milton’s 





« LHE BULL-FIGHT AT LIMA 





THE RUINS OF PACHACAMAC NEAR LIMA 





a 


THE CITY OF THE KINGS 97 


yard in London. He told me that he had retired 
from the ring ten years before I saw him in 1900 ; 
but was obliged to return to the scenes of his 
former triumphs, because he found it so difficult 
to teach would-be matadors how to act. They 
wouldn’t study hard enough to suit him; and 
when in the ring were inclined to rush matters. 
Mariano, on the contrary, took things very coolly. 
Nothing seemed to ruffle him. He was indeed a 
champion. Every year a big silver shield is 
presented to the owner of what is considered the 
best pacing stallion that has participated in the 
fights. I was present on this gala day, one July, 
when the awards were made. The principal 
prize, on this occasion, went to a beautiful chest- 
nut horse that had one white leg, and one white 
foot, and also a white star on his forehead. The 
present very popular President of Peru, A. B. 
Leguia, then Minister of Hacienda, sent him as a 
gift to George Lockett, one of the principals of 
the British Sugar Company, a man noted for 
his fine four-in-hand of greys. 

The tickets of admission to the bull ring are 
4 and 5 sols, i.e. 8s. and 10s., for seats on the shady 
side of the arena. For those on the other side 
(which are exposed to the blazing sun) 2 sols or 
21 sols, ie. 4s. or 5s., is the charge. Boxes are 
£2 or £4 each, and orchestra seats, 10s. (There 
are no boxes on the sunny side.) I rather favoured 
the latter, but frequently was honoured with a 
seat in the President’s box. 


Lima has always been noted, and justly so, 
H 


98 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


for her beautiful women. They are very partial 
to oranges, which are known to have a beneficial 
effect on the complexion. I brought this fact to 
the notice of a lovely Englishwoman, and was 
rather tickled to note when I lunched with her 
on several subsequent occasions, that she invari- 
ably finished up with a couple of oranges. This 
charming lady had a most delightful complexion, 
which she retained till the day of her death. 
Whether she owed it all to the diet of oranges, 
I do not know. The fact remains that the ladies 
of Lima swear by this delicious fruit, and their 
facial beauty is remarkable. 

To an Englishman there are few more interest- — 
ing objects than the Dog Market. Many Chinese— 
chiefly small shopkeepers—have made Lima their 
home. As is well known, they are very partial 
to dog-meat. Some of these people have deter- 
mined never to return to their native land, and 
they can be easily recognized by their cropped 
hair. For a Chinaman would never dream of 
going back to China minus his pigtail. There is 
a hairless dog, about the size of a poodle, and 
coloured blue-grey, or slate, which is not allowed 
to touch meat or bones. Chinamen love the 
flesh of this little animal. It is fed on yams, 
sweet potatoes, milk, boiled plantains, ete. 
Plantains, a species of banana, are treated by 
the natives of all tropical countries as vegetables, 
and not as fruit. Boiled with rice, or stewed 
with mutton, they are very appetising. Fried 
with butter they are not to be despised. I visited 


THE CITY OF THE KINGS 99 


the Dog Market with my old friend, McNeil, 
Permanent Secretary of the American Legation, 
and saw quite a lot of little carcasses hanging 
up, looking for all the world like tiny porkers. 
They were scraped white like pork. Some birds 
were also on show, but no other kind of meat. 
The market where pork, beef, mutton, etc., are 
sold, is some distance from the Dog Market. 

The Peruvian authorities are very particular, 
and rule these markets very strictly. Many of 
our colonies might take a tip from them—Trinidad 
and the West Indies, for instance. All meat 
exposed for sale, whether in the markets, or in | 
the butchers’ shops, must be hung in rooms lined 
with marble slabs, to keep everything cool. To 
ensure an ample supply of fresh air, one side is 
quite open, but screened off with wire mosquito 
netting. 

Every morning at 7 a.m., Don Pablo, the 
official Chief Veterinary Surgeon, used to go the 
round of the markets and shops. J sometimes 
accompanied him, when my horses were not doing 
fast work. Don Pablo examined every joint and 
carcass thoroughly. If he noticed any detriment, 
such as congealed blood, or a bruise, the whole 
portion of meat was condemned. “Give it to 
my soldiers,” he used to say, referring to the 
scavenger vultures, highly valued, and rightly 
so, by the authorities, because they keep the 
beautiful city of Lima free from disease, by 
clearing away all the garbage and rubbish. For 
Lima, although bang in the Tropics—she is, in 


100 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


fact, on the 10 line—is acknowledged to be one 
of the most healthy tropical cities in the whole 
wide world. And so she has been ever since 
Manco Capac’s time. 

The vultures are very tame and plump. 
Often, when I have been out riding with my 
racers, a couple would spring up from the ground, 
seeming to come almost from under the horses’ 
feet. They appeared to know they were per- 
fectly safe. No one ever dreams of killing them, 
for the simple reason that they are protected 
by the wise Government of Peru. In this 
matter especially the Peruvian statesmen are 
shrewd, far-seeing men; for they have decreed 
that a fine of 10 sols shall be imposed on any man, ~ 
woman, or child, who wilfully kills one of the 
scavenger birds. As a natural consequence they 
are a familiar sight in and around Lima, sitting 
about upon the housetops, or hovering over the 
place where the condemned meat is thrown. 

The Fish Market is regulated in the same 
thorough manner. No fish is allowed to be taken 
in after 9.30 a.m., and none sold after 3 p.m. 
All fish then left on hand is deposited on the 
dump-heap. Hence one can always depend on 
getting nothing but what is fresh and healthy. 
There is no such thing as fish being caught and 
put on ice, and held over till the next day, as 
often occurs elsewhere in the Tropics. 

Neither does the Government permit traders 
to take advantage of the poor. A Market Master 
regulates the price of everything; he allows the 


THE CITY OF THE KINGS 101 


salesmen and butchers to sell at a living profit, 
and no more. 

Bubonic plague is one of the terrors of the 
Tropics. The enlightened Government of Peru 
fights it in a most intelligent manner. It is 
caused by filth, and is conveyed from place to 
place by fleas that live on sewer rats. It stands 
to reason that if you can get rid of the rats, you'll 
check bubonic. To cope with any disease one 
must first eliminate the cause. In large cities, 
at least, the Peruvian laws of sanitation are very 
strict; and their method of dealing with the 
rat menace is excellent. For every female rat 
they offer 24 cents (gold), and for each buck 
rat, 5 cents. In this way bubonic is kept at 
arm’s length. Other South American Govern- 
ments have adopted these measures with good 
results. ‘They were certainly in vogue at Buenos 
Ayres when I was there. 


CHAPTER X 
TALES OF THE TURF 


HAVE pleasant recollections of Buenos 
Ayres, because when engaged in training 
race-horses there, I cured an Edward the 
Confessor horse, named Egbert, whose 

tendons had been badly sprung. I got him all 
right for his owner, who won a big classic race 
with him subsequently. This gentleman was 
ever so delighted, and to mark his appreciation, 
gave me over and above my fee (the odds to 50 
dollars) a pup by Shropshire Joe out of Lanca- 
shire Witch. He had paid £100 for the sire, a 
second prize winner at the Crystal Palace, and 
£60 for the dam, also a successful competitor. 
The Witch had a litter of beautiful puppies, 
all of which were easily disposed of—the dogs at 
£20 apiece and the bitches at £15—all, that is 
to say, except the one I received, and another 
which was given to Brett. I named the dog 
Sloper after the immortal Ally. Those readers 
who may feel curious as to what became of him, 
will find mention of him in my Racing reminiscences 
in connection with Never Mind, one of the 
gamest bits of horseflesh that ever looked through 


a bridle. 
102 


TALES OF THE TURF 103 


Talking of dogs recalls to mind a curious in- 
cident. Several Peruvian families claim to be 
lineal descendants of the Incas. A member of 
one of these, Sefiora Hernandez, lived in an old 
quinta about three miles outside Lima, on the 
road leading to Pisco. We became acquainted 
as follows. My horses had been doing fast work, 
and were being rubbed down, preparatory to 
having their white sheets put on them, when a 
half-breed came up to me. He had a beautiful 
dog with him, the size of a poodle. It was” cobby”’ 
made, and covered with lovely long, curly, cream- 
coloured hair, fine as silk. It had large black — 
eyes. Its muzzle, and the edges of its ears, were 
also of dusky hue. 

The Indian addressed me. 

“ You are a lover of horses, sir?” 

“Yes,” I replied. 

“ You love dogs, too?” 

Again I answered in the affirmative. 

“T have a dog to sell. Will you buy it-? -ot 
want 40 sols for him.” 

I recognized the animal, at once, as being an 
Inca poodle, a breed that was almost extinct. 
A specimen figures in the painting of Atahualpa 
and his wives on their way to Caxamarca, which 
hung in Zervallo’s picture gallery. The dog the 
Indian offered me I knew must be worth 440 at 
least, so I came to the conclusion that he had 
stolen it. I told him as much, and added, “I 
will give you 15 sols—no more, no less. You can 
take that and walk off; or Pl blow my whistle 


104. ADVENTURES IN PERU 


to summon the police, and have you detained 
until the ownership of the, dog is cleared up.” 
The man asked me to make it £2, but I said, ‘‘ Not 
me, not a cent more than 15 sols.” Finding me 
obdurate, he gave in, handed over the dog, and 
scuttled off. 

I took my purchase Howe and later on that 
day consulted my friend the Chief of Police. He 
told me that by the laws of Peru I was entitled 
to keep the dog until it was claimed. If, at the 
end of six months, no one had lodged a valid 
claim, then the animal belonged to me absolutely. 
In the event of the rightful owner’s turning up, 
he would have to pay me such out-of-pocket 
expenses as the Chief of Police considered reason- 
able, plus the sum I had given the Indian. This 
law also holds good in regard to stolen horses 
and cattle, practically all over South America. 

Once when engaged on construction work on 
the Bassavilvaso and Gualeguaychu line, I was 
offered a black four-year-old galloway, standing 
about fifteen hands, for the sum of £4. As there 
was a lot of Arab blood about the animal, I 
jumped at the chance. To protect myself, in 
case it had been stolen, I rode into Gualeguaychu, 
a distance of eighteen miles, and notified the 
Chief of Police. Subsequently, when I took up 
my residence in Buenos Ayres, I followed the 
same course. The galloway came in very useful 
as a hack. | 

Previous to being engaged on construction 
work on the railway, where I was boss over 200 


TALES OF THE TURF 105 


men and responsible for 56 kilos of permanent 
way, I served as a broker on the Stock Exchange. 
One has to remain in the Outer Ring a couple of 
years, to qualify for admittance to the Inner 
Ring. If, at the end of that period, there is 
no black mark against you, a place in the Inner 
Ring is yours, providing you can produce two 
sureties in £2000, or one in £4000. 

I served the best part of twelve months in 
the Outer Ring. My first two weeks were 
extraordinarily lucky ones, for I made 1500 
dollars (gold, not paper), in commission; but 
during the next six months I only made sixty! 
Then a very big job came my way. A Mr. M. H. 
commissioned me to report on a large farm, six 
leagues in extent, which he owned in Paraguay, 
on the banks of the Itapicuru River (called 
Tippicure by the natives). He wished to sell it, 
and required a sketch and plan to show to pro- 
spective buyers. “Do this,” he said, “and I 
will give you anything that it realizes over 2500 
dollars a league.” As luck would have it, a 
friend of mine named E. had lived on a farm 
belonging to his father and the Consul, which 
ran alongside M.’s; he was therefore able to 
describe its various features so accurately to me, 
that I didn’t need to leave my office! 

E., by the way, was a bit of a “lad.” How 
he came to leave Paraguay, is worth relating, if 
only to throw light on one of the native customs. 
The women of this interesting country are famed 
for their great beauty—up to the age of thirty 


106 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


years, anyhow. In 1862, through the covetous- 
ness of Francisco Lopez, who wanted to filch 
from the Argentine 500 miles of Brazilian terri- 
tory—nearly as far as La Plata—Paraguay 
became involved in a most terrible war. During 
its progress she lost so many men, that when, 
at last, peace was proclaimed, the women out- 
numbered the males by eleven to one. (The 
population was reduced from 340,000 to 200,000.) 
To remedy this preponderance, it was enacted 
that a man should be free to marry as many 
women as he liked, so long as he could afford 
to keep them. He was not, however, allowed 
to take them out of the country on any pretext 
whatever. Now KE. married a very pretty 
Paraguayan, about ten years younger than him- 
self. After a while he thought he would like to 
visit his parents, and take his wife with him. 
Accordingly they put their traps on a steamer, 
and in due course arrived at Villarica, situate 
on the Parana River. Here E. went ashore to 
watch some women loading up oranges. When 
he returned to the boat, after an absence of two 
hours, he couldn’t find his wife anywhere. She 
had left a note for him, in which she stated that 
her parents had sent her two brothers, and three 
friends, to compel her to return to Paraguay. 
They had arrived at Villarica before the steamer, 
had watched E. go ashore, and then abducted 
the girl. ‘‘ It would not be wise,” she wrote, “ for 
you to seek me out, for a year or so; after then, 
if you come back and apologize to. my people, 


TALES OF THE TURF 107 


and to the Chief, promising not to offend again, 
all will be well.” 

This communication put E.inabluefunk. He 
feared all sorts of things would happen to him ; 
so he took good care to give the girl and her 
home a very wide berth. Ultimately, I believe, 
he married another woman at Buenos Ayres. 

_ Banking on E.’s information, I didn’t trouble 
to visit M.’s farm, but stayed in my office, waiting 
for clients who never came, busying myself 
meantime in making a sketch-plan of the Itapicuru 
estate from the material E. had supplied. It 
was about four feet square, and didn’t look so 
bad when I had finished it. M. was very pleased. 
Two months later, a Mr. T. came along, saw the 
sketch and was so taken with it that he decided 
to view the farm it was supposed to represent. 
His wealthy father had given him £10,000 with 
which to buy an estate in the Argentine. 

T. visited M.’s place, and found it very much 
to his liking. On his return, he praised my 
sketch, and said he would like to buy the place. 
‘What was the figure?’ Taking my courage 
in both hands, I quoted 4500 dollars a league. 
T. thought this was dirt cheap, and wrote a 
letter to M. to that effect. 

So soon as M. received T.’s communication, he 
came to me and said, 

“What! 4500 dollars a league, and you to get 
a cool 2000 a league out of it! No, no, my 
young sir, I have under-estimated its worth. My 
price is now 5500 dollars a league. When I 


108 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


get that, Dll see you receive your rightful com- 
mission.” 

T. wouldn’t go to that figure, so the deal fell 
through. But he bought another farm at 4500 
dollars a league, and was instrumental in obtaining 
500 dollars for me from the owner. He told 
him that but for me, he would have bought a 
place in the Bragado district of the Argentine 
Republic. Subsequently, M. sold his estate, and 
sold it well, too, for he received 7000 dollars a 
league for it. That was fifteen or so years ago, 
but from that day to this I have never fingered 
even one of the 12,000 dollars that I was entitled 
to. I quote this incident, just to show the great 
pull an Inner Ring broker has over his Outer 
brother. The Committee of the Stock Exchange 
protect the Inner Ring man, and see that he 
gets his rights. The poor Outer Ringer, they 
leave to his own devices. After such an experience 
can it be wondered at, that I chucked the Stock 
Exchange, and turned my attention to another 
sphere of enterprises, viz. railway construction 
work ? | 

Seven pounds a month was my remuneration 
when I commenced as foreman, but three months 
later I was drawing £25 a month as assistant. 
engineer. I soon realized, however, that I should 
not make my fortune at this work, and Mr. Boggs, 
General Manager of the Entre Rios line, told 
me there was not the least chance of promotion, 
unless one had a big backer. Even then things 
were not all honey, for contractors were heavily 


TALES OF THE TURF 109 


penalized if they failed to complete their sections 
within the specified time. 

Young H., for example, with whom I worked 
as assistant, invested £5000 of the money his 
father left him with a Brazilian firm of con- 
tractors. These people took on a stretch of line, 
and had to stake £20,000 that it would be con- 
structed by a certain date. Indian labour was 
all they had to depend upon, and the dusky 
gentlemen served them as their fellow-countrymen 
served me at Sicasica and elsewhere. They 
worked only as long as they cared to work, and 
then they went off. So the contractors were 
unable to complete their contract to time, and 
consequently lost their £20,000. 

This kind of thing didn’t appeal to me, so 
I decided to apprentice myself to a trainer of 
race-horses at Buenos Ayres, and see if I could 
make money on the Turf. Brett was considered 
a pastmaster of his craft. He had had a more 
than passing acquaintance with some of the most 
famous racing establishments in England, and was 
exceptionally clever at treating foundered horses. 
He taught me all he knew of this important 
subject, during the time I officiated as his secretary 
and assistant trainer. Subsequently I picked up 
many useful wrinkles from the Medicine Men of 
various tribes of Indians with whom I came in 
contact on my exploring trips. 

A few months after I started with Brett, the 
black galloway before mentioned became mine, 
to dispose of as I thought fit. About this time 


110 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


I received news of my sister’s impending marriage 
to H. G. Ley (who has since succeeded to the 
baronetcy), so I decided I couldn’t give her a 
better wedding present. I had broken the gallo- 
way to harness, and he was a really smart trapper. 
I shipped him aboard the Nile, and everything 
went well until the boat arrived two days off 
the English coast. Then, as Captain Spooner sub- 
sequently told me, she ran into a bad storm. 
The sea raged mountains high, and the horse- 
box broke loose from one of its moorings, and 
was washed about hither and thither. When 
the storm abated, and the sailors were able to 
restore the box to its original position, they found 
the galloway still standing up, but showing signs 
of the terrible experience he had been through. 
At Southampton he was carefully examined, and 
found to have sustained very serious injury across 
his loins. My father had him conveyed by easy 
stages to his place, and called in the best vet. in 
Wiltshire. Much to everybody’s regret that 
gentleman decided the horse must be shot. 
Before this order was put into execution, the 
late Duke of Beaufort drove over and had a look 
at the poor animal. There was no better judge 
of horseflesh in the whole wide world. As his 
Grace turned away, he said to my father, 
** Prodgers, next time you write to your son, tell 
him this is the finest galloway I have ever seen.” 
When I began training on my own, my stables 
were located not far from the racecourse near 
Belgrano. One day there arrived a gaucho, or 


TALES OF THE TURF 111 


native cattle-man, bringing with him a half-bred 
percheron, about six years old. He wanted £2 
for it, and produced the official papers which have 
to be procured when one wishes to pass a horse 
on to some one else. He said he had bought it 
al corte, with twenty-nine others out of a herd, 
or trowpillo, which consisted of 500 animals, 
tamed and untamed. The lot cost him £60. I 
was curious to learn why he was willing to part 
with the percheron at the same price he gave for 
it. It seemed a great strong horse, if somewhat 
clumsy. The gaucho explained that it was 
because ‘“‘ the rotten swine,” as he called it in 
his picturesque lingo, wouldn’t stand for any- 
body. Several times when he had been riding 
around, and had had occasion to dismount for 
a minute or two, the animal had cleared off and 
left his luckless master stranded many miles from 
camp! Well, I agreed to take the percheron at 
the price named. Six months later I sold him 
to the Belgrano Tramway Company for £20. 

On one occasion I travelled from Chile to 
Lima with a mare and a stallion for A. B. Leguia. 
I had to deliver them at his beautiful estate, ten 
miles beyond a place called Pisco, where Leguia’s 
breeding establishment—a model, up-to-date 
affair—was situated, vast breadths of the adjoining 
land being devoted to the raising ot sugar and 
cotton. Springtide, the lord of the harem, was a 
remarkably fine horse, as was only to be expected 
when one considers that he numbered among 
his distinguished progenitors game old See Saw. 


112 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


Springtide was bred by Mr. A. C. Barclay out of 
his mare Noyau, and was disposed of to a rich 
Frenchman, named Dreyfus, for £5000 as a three- 
year-old and subsequently presented by him to 
Admiral Lynch, who was often in the public eye 
during the Chilian and Peruvian war. Finally the 
horse became Leguia’s property. 

Well, after 1 had accomplished my mission, I 
found I had a fortnight to wait before I could get 
a steamer from Pisco to Chile ; so I put in a week 
with Mr. Leguia’s father, a dear old gentleman 
who was never happier than when riding round 
his son’s estate, to keep an eye on the various 
workmen, wagons, and trucks. Leguia’s brother 
Robert was manager of the estate. He was fond 
of cock-fighting, and told me that the great 
cock-fight of the year would be held at Ica, 
forty-four miles the other side of Pisco, across 
the desert. Within sixteen miles or so of Ica 
there is a famous lake, called Huacachina, which 
I had often desired to see, so I determined to miss 
the next boat, and board one due at Pisco a week 
later. Thus I purposed to kill two birds with 
one stone. This programme I adhered to. On 
the occasion of my visit to Huacachina, I took 
with me my two hacks, Tony and Golondrina. 

Just a word about these horses. The latter, 
a well-known steeplechase mare by St. Blaise IT. 
out of a Cleveland coaching mare, H. had bred 
at Madame Cousino’s Macul estate in Chile. 
During the Chilian and Peruvian war, St. Blaise 
II.’s predecessor at the stud was turned loose with | 


TALES OF THE TURF 113 


a number of thoroughbred mares, in the great 
Aconcagua valley, in order that he should not 
fall into the hands of the Peruvians, if they won. 
In this same valley was a batch of Cleveland 
mares, belonging to the same estate, under the 
guardianship of a very fine Cleveland stallion. 
Three Cleveland mares strayed away, and got 
mixed up with the thoroughbred queens. Two 
were in foal, but one was not. The progeny of 
this mare became Golondrina’s mother. Don 
Emilio Brunel, Madame Cousino’s master of horse 
and head coachman, gave me these particulars. 
Subsequently, several Cleveland mares were put 
to St. Blaise II., in order to get high-class cavalry 
remounts. Every year it was the custom of the 
Cousino people to sell by auction a number of 
blood horses sired by St. Blaise II., together with 
several Cleveland bays and high-class hackneys. 
At one of these sales my friend Schmidt, 
the head of a big wholesale and retail firm, 
bought Golondrina for 130 gs., the mare being 
then four yearsold. Schmidt kept her two years, 
during which period she gave him every satisfac- 
tion. But ill-luck overtook him, and his firm 
went smash. So he came to me and said, 
“ Prodgers, will you do me a great favour?” I 
said I would if I could. ‘‘ Well, it’s like this. 
When the judge orders delivery of our assets, I 
shall be very short of ‘ready.’ Now there’s 
Golondrina, my trotting hackney, named after 
the Minister of the Interior’s famous trotting 
stallion Spofford, a dog-cart I gave £60 for in 
I 


114 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


England, and a good set of harness. You can 
have the lot for £200.” It is perhaps needless 
to say I closed with him without one moment’s 
hesitation. Golondrina thus became my pro- 
perty. She was a very big jumper, was very safe, 
and could stay for ever at her own pace. Tony 
was by Nobility, and cost, as a yearling, the 
equivalent of £500. He developed a savage 
temper, and nearly killed a man; so his owner 
was glad to sell him to me for £50, on the under- 
standing that if I ever got him steady enough to 
trust in a race, I would let his old master know 
when I thought he had a winning chance. In 
my hands Tony became as obedient and as 
docile as a child. He won for me twice on the 
flat, and seven times over hurdles, before I 
retired him as my hack. 

With these two dependable horses then and 
Francisco Caro, one of my stable-lads, acting as 
second horseman, I embarked for Pisco. We 
arrived there at noon, and next day continued 
our journey to Ica. 

Some twelve miles after leaving Pisco we 
came across a lovely little oasis, in which there 
grew the biggest and most delightful heliotrope 
bush I have ever seen. It quite recompensed me 
for all the monotonous stretch of desert which 
we had traversed. : 

Ica is a charming little town, with houses 
built mostly of adobe brick, painted blue and 
white. I put up at a nice little hotel, where I 
secured, for a very reasonable sum, a room for 


TALES OF THE TURF 115 


myself and a shed for Caro and the horses. In 
the neighbouring district cotton is grown on a 
pretty extensive scale. Piccione and Co. have 
a spinning mill here which employs a large 
number of hands. Piccione himself was a great 
racing man, and a notable rider “over the sticks ” 
in Italy. I met his good lady and child at Pisco, 
staying there for the sea bathing. Mrs. Piccione 
took a great fancy to Golondrina, who was in 
foal to Springtide, and offered me £100 for her. 
I said, ‘‘ You can have the mare if you like; but 
I want the foal. You can have the mare six 
months after the foal is born.” This arrange- 


af ment didn’t suit her. She wished to take over 


the mare directly I returned from visiting 
Huacachina. But though we failed to agree, 
that circumstance didn’t affect our friendship, 
and when I moved off for the lake I took with 
me a letter to the caretaker of several little houses 
P. owned in the vicinity. Piccione had had these 
built for the benefit of people who go to Huaca- 
china to take the waters, in token of his gratitude 
for having been cured of a very serious malady. 

It was the day after we arrived at Ica, that 
I rode Golondrina over to the lake. The going 
was fine until we neared the end of our journey. 
Then we had to negotiate a hill 3000 ft. high, 
composed of hard sand. When we had sur- 
mounted this obstacle, we had to clamber down 
another steep path for 1000 ft., and at the foot 
of this declivity lay Huacachina. 

The lake is bordered by a tiny beach, some 


116 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


fifteen yards wide. Green trees surrounded it, 
and a flat-bottomed boat is kept for the use of 
visitors. Many people of my acquaintance, 
besides Piccione, have been greatly benefited by 
a visit to this famous lake.* 

I bathed in the lake every day, not that there 
was anything the matter with me, but just that 
I might say I had tried the waters. Sulphur, 
potash, magnesium, and calcium, were, I found, 
the principal ingredients. One can’t sink, and I 
could never get farther down than my arm- 
pits. 

On the surface the water was quite warm, but 
underneath it struck very cold to one’s feet. 
That peculiarity, of course, is attributable to the 
potash. 

The country round about Huacachina is noted 
for its cotton, and alfalfa. Sugar cane is also 
grown, but it doesn’t succeed so well there as 
it does along the coast of Peru. The soil is not 
so rich. Most people picture the desert as a 
never-changing waste of sand. But when I 
passed through the Peruvian wilderness, it was 
all asmother with bulbous flowers of great beauty. 
The blooms resembled petunias, and they were 
all the colours of the rainbow. This phenomenon 
occurs every winter, and -continues for a period 
of six or eight weeks, till the sun regains its full 
power. Then the exquisite picture vanishes, almost 
as swiftly as: a soap bubble passes away. The 
desert extends all along the coast. This is Peru’s 


* Vide Adventures in Bolivia. 





NEAR JUMBEZ 





NEAR LAKE HUACACHINA 


TALES OF THE TURF 117 


chief detriment. But even so, it is barred, like 
the staves of a piece of music, with lovely, fertile 
valleys, every twenty or thirty leagues or so. In 
these almost anything that grows can be cultivated 
with the expenditure of little energy, except 
cotton and sugar, for these two things require 
to be constantly irrigated. Nevertheless the 
sugar mills in these parts can crush sugar every 
week-day for forty-nine weeks of every year, 
the remaining three weeks being devoted to the 
annual overhaul. An admirable system of irriga- 
tion has now been adopted, consequently the 
mills are not dependent on the rain. Saline 
deposits abound. There are several salt lakes 
within easy distance of Ica. Borax is to be found 
farther north, at Chimbote and Pacasmayo. 

Piccione, the Italian I have referred to in 
connection with Huacachina, owned a famous 
racehorse in the Argentine, named Pippermint. 
Pippermint was sired at Saturnino Unsue’s haras 
Indesis by St. Mirin. When put up at the usual 
yearly auction, he failed to fetch the reserve 
placed upon him, so George Attucha took him 
over on racing terms, i.e. if the horse, within a 
year, won an amount in stakes and other prizes 
equal to his reserve price, he then became Attucha’s 
property. Pippermint paid for himself many 
times over, his winnings amounting, I believe, 
to something like 140,000 dollars. At the finish 
of his racing career Attucha parted with him for 
£10,000 to Piccione, who wanted a stallion for 
his place in South Africa. 


118 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


Some folk seem extraordinarily lucky. 
Attucha, for instance. I met him once at Mar- 
del-Plata, where I had taken Simpleton, hoping 
the sea-water would strengthen his leg. He had 
broken a small bone just below the joint, and it 
had not long been set. Attucha was enjoying 
himself among the bathers ; varying this pleasant 
pastime with an occasional visit to the roulette 
tables. I accompanied him one night to the 
rooms. We each took with us about £10. 
Attucha staked his money on number 32. 
I placed mine on number 33. We had 
agreed that whoever of us won, should return 
the other his original stake capital. Round and 
round went the little ball, darting hither and 
thither, until it finally came to rest in number 
32. <Attucha raked in his winnings, and 
gave me back my £10. Once bit, twice shy, I 
didn’t risk it again, for I never loved gambling, 
not even on the Turf, and rarely backed a horse 
outside my own stable. 

Don Jorge, however, decided to see his run 
of luck out. By the end of the week he had 
increased his gains to 56,000 dollars ! 

Attucha owned the famous French mare 
Siberie. I last saw him at Newmarket July 
meeting, about 1912. He had brought over a 
flier from the Argentine, but failed to capture 
anything with him.* Attucha also purchased 


* In my racing reminiscences I shall advance my theory for 
the failure of Argentine horses to show their proper form in 
England. 


TALES OF THE TURF 119 


Perrier, one of the late King Edward’s horses, 
giving £2100 for him, if I remember aright. 

At Mar-del-Plata on another occasion I was 
accosted by one of Argentine’s biggest racing men. 
He was hard up, having mortgaged his house and 
shares. “1 want to have a flutter,” said he. 
“ Lend me five dollars, old pal.” I complied with 
his request, and he vanished into the roulette 
room, to reappear an hour later with 1000 
dollars. Some years later I ran up against him 
in London. He was very pleased to see me, and 
said the little loan I made him brought him luck. 
He had played his winnings up, and eventually 
turned the original five dollars into 40,000. With 
this sum he paid off his mortgages, and then, 
like a sensible fellow, chucked roulette for ever 
and ever, Amen. 

Although, as I have said before, I seldom 
chanced my luck at the tables, yet 1 must admit 
that the fickle goddess was once not too unkind 
to me. During my stay at Mar-del-Plata with 
Simpleton, I took a prominent English Church 
official to the roulette room. He wouldn’t 
play, he simply wished to look on and gather 
material for a speech he had to make at Buenos 
Ayres. 

I for my part bought £1 worth of chips, and 
started backing Attucha’s lucky number. It was 
good enough to turn up, so T went on, and couldn’t 
do wrong. Within about an hour I won £300. 
I then left the tables, and took good care not to 
trouble them again. 


120 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


With my winnings I paid all my expenses at 
Mar-del-Plata, including all Simpleton and my 
hacks had cost me, and even then landed back 
in Buenos Ayres with £200 in my pocket. So I 
considered I had a very cheap holiday ! 


CHAPTER XI 


THROUGH THE NASCA AND CANETE VALLEYS 


N one of my frequent visits to Lima I 
made the acquaintance of a company 
promoter named Jackson. He had 
formed the idea that a large tract of 

country, lying between the great river Appurimac 
and the Nasca and Cafiete valleys, was admirably 
adapted to grow sugar and various other crops. 
He wanted some one to explore the old viaduct 
that had been constructed by the Incas in days 
gone by, to conduct the waters of the Appurimac 
to this stretch of country; and to report on its 
condition before he approached the Government 
of Peru for a concession. - Jackson wished to 
avoid laying out much money on preliminaries 
but, nevertheless, offered me £200 if I would take 
the job on, with a promise to supplement it with 
a 10 per cent. holding in the company he intended 
to form, in the event of matters turning out 
satisfactorily. I mentioned the subject to Bailey, 
the manager of the Cable Company, in the course 
of conversation, and he scouted the idea. 

“Do you mean to say,” he exclaimed, * that 
you are going to risk riding through that vast 
desert, for a paltry £200, on spec ?”’ 

121 


122 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


“Yes, and glad of the job,” I said. “It 
will only take me about a fortnight, and will 
afford me the chance of seeing one of the old 
bridges made by the Incas.” 

‘Man, you are mad!” he rejoined. “‘ You'll 
never get through. You will see nothing but 
heaps of human bones lying about; and mind 
you don’t add yours to them. In the first place, 
where will you find a horse that will carry your 
lump of a carcass ? ” 

‘Never mind about the horse part,” I said. 
“I think Golondrina and Tony will be equal to 
the task. Anyhow, I intend taking them and 
Francisco Caro with me.” 

“* Ah,” he agreed, ‘‘ if you choose to take the 
best hurdler in Chile and the finest chaser, 
together with one of your best stable-lads, that 
alters the complexion of affairs. Still, I wish you 
well out of the job. You'll find it is no picnic.” 

This conversation didn’t daunt me in the 
least. I had calculated my chances very care- 
fully, and felt convinced that the task was not 
beyond my powers. Accordingly the following 
July (ie. July, 1900) saw my little party safely 
embarked on the Guatemala, en route for Cerro 
Azul. On arriving there we left the steamer 
and pushed on to Cafiete, where we put up for a — 
day at a house belonging to the British Sugar 
Co., in which corporation Leguia was interested 
financially. 

Next morning we started on our adventurous 
ride. The first portion lay through a beautiful 


THE NASCA AND CANETE VALLEYS 123 


valley, luxuriant with grass and alfalfa, and 
dotted here and there with gorgeous tropical 
flowers. Only a few stunted trees were visible, 
but they were full of bloom. I was particularly 
attracted by some lovely pale blue and cream 
convolvulus creepers. (When I described them 
the other day to an acquaintance, a Mr. Reynolds, 
who had been formerly head gardener at one of 
England’s historic mansions, he classified them 
as weeds. I dare say he is right in a way, but 
to me their simple daintiness appeals more 
powerfully than many a choice specimen of the © 
florist’s treasure house.) We made good progress, 
and reached the end of the valley before nightfall. 
There we came across an Indian homestead, the 
proprietor of which very civilly expressed his 
willingness to let me a small hut for myself, 
with a kitchen outside and an open thatched 
barn made of adobe bricks for the horses. His 
charge for two nights and a day was very moderate 
—only 2 sols in fact. He supplied us with a 
plenitude of provisions, such as paltas, chiri- 
moyas, peaches, plantains, and other vegetables, 
and fowls’ eggs. Paltas grow wild in this valley, 
and indeed, in many other parts of Bolivia and 
Peru. West Indians call them Abogada * pears. 
At 2 cents apiece they were very cheap. The 
chirimoya I identified as the sugar apple of the 
West Indies. Those our landlord supplied us 
with were much finer, however, than any I had 
seen before. I paid for them no more than for 


* Written ‘* Avocada.”’ 


124 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


the paltas. They were mostly larger than a 
cricket ball—some with rough skins, others per- 
fectly smooth. I preferred the variety last 
described. The price was but 2 cents each! 
As for vegetables such as yams, sweet potatoes, 
etc., they cost me next to nothing. 

Before we started on our first stretch of 
desert, I made very careful arrangements. I 
packed up a cooked fowl, some bread and a 
quantity of beef sandwiches, and placed them, 
together with a flask of whisky and a bottle of 
water, in the saddle-bags. These I slung on one 
side of Francisco’s mount. On the other side 
I fixed up two bottles of beer for the horses, and 
five pounds of oats, mixed with a little green 
alfalfa cut up fine. Then, after partaking of a 
substantial breakfast, we bade the Indian good- 
bye, and made for the narrow track that leads 
across the desert to the next valley, fifty-six 
miles away. 

It was about 8 a.m. when we struck camp. 
I was well aware that the greatest danger we had 
to contend with was the desert fog, a nasty white 
mist, dense as a London fog, that creeps down 
and takes travellers unawares if they don’t keep 
their eyes skinned. So I determined to keep a 
sharp look-out for those little signs that experience 
had taught me always precede these visitations. — 

About 10 o’clock I noted that Golondrina 
seemed uneasy. Next the back of my hand felt as 
if an icy finger had touched it. Almost immedi- 
ately the atmosphere began to thicken, and by 


THE NASCA AND CANETE VALLEYS 125 


10.30 the path was hardly visible. I quickly 
decided that we must halt, for if we wandered 
from the path in the semi-darkness, our doom 
was probably sealed. So I dismounted, and 
called upon Caro to follow suit, an order he 
promptly obeyed. Then we squatted down on 
the path, holding our horses by their bridle 
reins lest they should get away. Thus we sat 
until close upon 1 o’clock, when the fog cleared. 
During our compulsory halt we gave Golondrina 
and Tony a bottle of beer each, and the oats and 
alfalfa mixture. 

Directly it was safe to do so, we resumed our 
journey, I on Tony and Francisco on Golondrina, 
whose turn it was now to carry the tack. All 
through our journey I made a practice of chang- 
ing horses every hour. The atmosphere was now 
sensibly warmer, although not uncomfortably 
so, and there was a beautiful sky overhead. But 
all round us, so far as the eye could see on every 
side, nothing but sand, sand, sand. 

However we did not allow our minds to 
dwell upon the monotonous outlook, but kept 
steadily plugging along. At last, about 5 p.m., 
our eyes were gladdened by the sight of a fringe 
of waving green grass. We had crossed the 
first stretch of desert ! 

Within a short time we entered the confines 
of a valley, even more beautiful than the one we 
had left. Down the centre of it ran a stream of 
water, probably a branch of the Appurimac. 
Along its banks Guinea grass grew in wild 


126 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


profusion. All around were to be seen delicious 
fruits and flowers. It was indeed a Garden of 
Delight. 

We soon hit up against an Indian home- 
steader, and came to terms with him. For 2s., 
or 1 sol a day, he agreed to let me have a hut 
for myself and a shed for the horses. Truly the 
further one gets from civilization, the cheaper 
does everything become. Like the Indian in 
the other valley, this one catered for our every 
need, and charged even less for fruit and vege- 
tables. He offered me, for instance, chirimoyas 
and paltas at 1 cent each. I really could not 
accept them at that price, but had some difficulty 
in inducing him to take 2 cents apiece. Not 
far from the riverside were fields of alfalfa, planted 
_by settlers who lived in this beautiful region, 
free from care and worry, and having pretty well 
everything that human nature craves for close to 
their hand. I decided to stay here three days, 
and give the horses a good rest, while I took a 
look round. 

The owner of the hacienda, or big farm, 
where we put up, paid us a visit next morning 
about nine o’clock, and gave me a cordial 
invitation to his own private residence, three 
miles away. He also offered me the use of a 
fine pacer while my horses took things easy. I 
thanked him heartily for his kind courtesy, but 
didn’t go to his house, as I only wanted to potter 
about. I accepted the loan of the horse, however. 
He told me there were many objects of interest 


THE NASCA AND CANETE VALLEYS 127 


scattered about all over the valley, including 
ancient ruins overgrown with shrubs and weeds 
and brushwood, that had hardly been touched 
since the time of the Incas. 

There was plenty of game here, partridges, 
doves, bush-chicken, martinette, and so forth. 
Bush-chicken are capital eating. They are very 
plump, and closely resemble the ordinary barn- 
door fowl in appearance. In colour they are a 
dirty blackish-brown. Fowls were brought to 
Peru by Pizarro. It is stated in Prescott’s 
Conquest of Peru that the Indians were greatly 
surprised when the cocks began to crow. They 
had never heard such a thing before. Bush- 
chicken have all descended from these birds. 
Equally strange to them were the horses Pizarro 
introduced. 

Later in the day I took Francisco with me 
on a shooting expedition. We had not gone far 
before I noticed a number of parrots sitting about 
on the branches of a nice, flowery tree. I made 
my approach with due caution, and had the 
satisfaction to get three of them with my first 
barrel. The other I discharged at a martinette 
that was running along the ground some distance 
away. ‘These four birds proved a welcome addi- 
tion to our larder. I didn’t trouble to bag any 
more, although we saw numerous partridges and 
martinette, and also a bush-turkey. 

I might add here that it was my invariable 
custom never to load my gun till I wanted to 
discharge it. And though, through adhering to 


128 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


this rule, I frequently missed chances of getting 
Pete buck, I had good reasons for so doing. 
Some years previously, at Hamilton Langley’s 
estancia, D., a friend of his, and manager of a 
bank in Buenos Ayres, paid him a visit, in com- 
pany with his wife. They brought with them 
an excellent pointer called Ponto. One day we 
all went out to get some partridges. Like most 
vivacious Frenchmen, D. was eager to get to 
business, and pushed on considerably ahead of 
the rest of us. Suddenly we heard bang! bang! 
bang! in quick succession, followed by a scream, 
‘Oh! Oh!” We hurried off in the direction whence 
the sounds seemed to come, and, after searching 
around, found the luckless man. He presented 
a fearful spectacle, having apparently stumbled, 
and in falling had received the contents of both 
barrels in his stomach. He was beyond all 
human aid when H. reached him. Subsequently 
the widow gave Ponto to me, and I kept him till 
I left San Emilio. Moreover, I myself had a 
rather nasty experience on the same estate. 
We were after wild duck, which had been located 
on a salt lake, and I was walking with a Mrs. 
Cornmell. On the way down, she said, ‘‘ Do 
shoot a few plover.”” Now I didn’t care much 
for plover, but I said, “ All right,” and soon after 
bagged a brace. Then I loaded my gun, put it 
at half-cock, and proceeded to make the best of 
my way to the duck haunt. Suddenly my foot 
hitched in something, and I stumbled. Bang! 
went my gun. Fortunately it was pointing ahead, 


THE NASCA AND CANETE VALLEYS 129 


and so didn’t interfere with Mrs. Cornmell: but 
it gave her a bit of a turn, and shook me up more 
than I cared to admit. These two lessons were 
sufficient for me. I resolved I would never again 
carry a loaded gun. 

After lunch I set off to examine some old 
ruins the Indian had spoken about, on the right- 
hand side of the river about three miles down. 
I rode the excellent pacer left for my use by the 
owner of the hacienda and followed a path which 
took me straight to my objective. I spent a 
couple of hours examining the ruins very closely. 
They were the remains of what had been fairly 
large buildings. The walls were rough-built of 
cobble stones and mud bricks mixed, fully two 
feet thick, and the rooms seemed planned on 
spacious lines. Everything was overgrown with 
weeds and young trees; and I noticed several 
mounds outside and within. 

On the east side grew a lovely bush of wild 
jasmine. I have never seen a bigger or finer 
specimen. Entwined with it was a gorgeous 
blue convolvulus creeper. In my humble opinion, 
Nature had provided this as a protection for the 
beautiful bush. The two together made a far 
finer show than they would have done if separated. 
I am led to think this, because of an experience 
that I had in Trinidad. In the garden of the 
Villa Iris, which belonged to my wife, and faced 
the great Savannah Park, there was a magnificent 
bush of white jasmine, the envy of all beholders. 
One day the coolie gardener told my wife a yarn. 

K 


130 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


A white convolvulus had begun throwing its 
tendrils around the bush. Said he, “If you 
don’t have that weed pulled up, the jasmine will 
surely die.” I questioned the truth of this, but 
ultimately we let the man have his way. Now, 
mark the sequel! From that day to this the 
jasmine has never once flowered properly. In 
fact, sometimes it has not bloomed at all. 

On my way back from the ruins, I saw several 
bush-chicken resting on a tree; so I dismounted, 
stalked them carefully, and knocked over a brace. 
What with goat flesh, parrots, partridges, and 
martinette, we had now sufficient variety of meats 
to satisfy even the most fastidious eater. 

Four days later we struck camp, and started 
to tackle the other stretch of desert, a matter of 
forty-eight miles. As provender we loaded up 
the bush-chicken and martinette I had killed the 
previous evening, two bottles of water for the 
horses—I couldn’t get any beer—some cold 
grilled goat, and a loaf or two of native bread. 
Real good wholesome bread this is, I can recom- 
mend it. 

By 1.30 we had covered thirty-six miles, 
and then were pleasantly surprised to see a jolly- 
looking padre come riding down a path on our 
left, on a high-stepping pacing horse. He was 
apparently going to visit a village on the other 
side of the Appurimac, which can be crossed 
about fourteen miles further on, by one of the 
two Inca bridges I had to examine. He caught 
up with us as we were finishing lunch, and was 


‘THE NASCA AND CANETE VALLEYS 131 


very affable; he asked where we were going to, 
and all that sort of thing. I told him I wanted 
to see what I could make of the old viaduct that 
in former times conveyed the waters of the 
Appurimac through the heart of a great sandstone 
hill 1000 metres high, for a distance of 2000 
metres, in order to irrigate the desert. It is 
said this vast undertaking was successfully carried 
through by Maita Capac, one of the greatest Inca 
rulers. Maita also constructed the great road 
from Quito to Cuzco, already alluded to. A few 
of his bridges, or aqueducts, may still be seen— 
kept in fairly good preservation by the Indians. 
Vast tracts of desert land were reclaimed and 
made productive by the enlightened enterprise 
of Maita Capac; but under European mismanage- 
ment they have been allowed to relapse into their 
former barren state. What a thousand pities! 
J invited the good Father, who looked as if he 
did himself pretty well, to have a snack of martin- 
ette, or grilled goat, and native bread and butter, 
washed down with a draught of nice cold water 
out of my army flask. A tidy-sized flask this, 
by the way; it holds close on a quart. I used 
to fill it from every stream we came across. I 
may say that on this occasion, I added a small 
quantity of good rum which my good friend, the 
Haciendero, had given me—just to colour the 
water ! 

From this point we rode on together, at 
an easy gait—I on Golondrina and Francisco 
on Tony bringing up the rear. After traversing 


132 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


about seven miles, he and I changed horses as 
usual. °Twas four o’clock before we reached the 
valley. After riding up it a matter of four miles, 
guided by the priest, we came to six Indian 
thatched huts. My clerical friend very kindly 
asked me to cross the bridge and put up at his 
residence. But, as he was speaking, another 
portly gentleman drew near. He proved to be 
the Corregidor, a full-blooded Indian, but very 
civil and obliging. Evidently he overheard what 
the priest had said to me; for he at once exclaimed, 
“No, Padre, the Gringo shall not stay with you. 
It is the duty of Corregidors in Peru to look after 
all strangers, and find them accommodation 
until they choose to move on.” 

Having regard to the work I was engaged on, 
[ thought it best to hire an empty hut which the 
Corregidor had on hand, although I would have 
been delighted to accept the priest’s kind invita- 
tion. So the Corregidor called an old Indian, 
and told him what I required. Within a few 
minutes I was installed in a hut, with a thatched 
shed at the back for my horses. Another hut 
was provided for Francisco. The kitchen 
attached served as a kind of saddle-room. 

It is the usual custom to keep a building for 
the accommodation of strangers. When not occu- 
pied it is used as a storehouse for Government 
stores, potatoes, maize, chuno, and so forth. 
(Black chuno is composed of potatoes, frozen by 
the Indians, and treated in such a way that they 
keep for almost any length of time. When you 


THE NASCA AND CANETE VALLEYS 133 


want to use them all you have to do is to put the 
chuno in water, and stand it out in the sun for 
awhile. Within a short time the potatoes are 
thawed and then can be cooked. They are very. 
palatable.) The Corregidor, having arranged for 
your accommodation, appoints an Indian to wait 
upon you with provisions. For these you are 
expected to pay, of course; but the price asked 
is always most reasonable. The Indians are 
bound to obey their Corregidor. I seldom came 
across any who were hostile to me. As in Bolivia, 
it is easy for travellers to ascertain whether the 
natives are friendly disposed, or the reverse. If, 
when reaching a village, you find all the doors 
closed, the best thing you can do is to pass on 
without delay. The inhabitants wish to have 
nothing to do with you. If some of the doors 
stand open, this intimates that you may purchase 
what provisions they happen to have in stock ; 
but had better camp outside the village. When, 
however, most of the doors are open, and people 
are to be seen standing about, then you may rest 
assured you are heartily welcome to the best 
accommodation the villagers can offer. 

I thought it best to tell the Corregidor and 
priest why I could not very well stay with either 
of them, viz. because I had to examine the old 
viaduct for Jackson and his pals, and I was glad 
to find they both appreciated my explanation. 
The priest told me that a little lower down the 
valley there were the ruins of an old city, dating 
back to the time of the Yungas, the oldest known 


134 © ADVENTURES IN PERU 


inhabitants of the Southern Hemisphere, who 
ruled Peru in the far distant past, long before the 
Incas came into prominence. That the Yungas 
had attained to an extraordinary civilization is 
shown by various specimens of ceramic art which 
have been brought to light in recent years. Vases, 
basins, and water-bottles have been found, exqui- 
sitely moulded and baked, made of an opaque 
clay, faintly tinged with pink, and covered over 
with a wonderful enamel, on which various 
designs are vividly represented in colours, which 
still retain their original freshness. Among the 
most treasured objects in the British Museum, 
are four pieces of this ancient pottery, dug up in 
this same Nasca valley. Three bowls and one 
basin are intact. There are, besides, some broken 
specimens. Experts fix the date of their pro- 
duction as 4500 B.c. The Yungas water-bottle 
(p. 1388 of Adventures in Bolivia) was unearthed 
here. It is much larger than the British Museum 
specimens. Although after them the Huancas, 
and later on the Incas, tried to imitate this 
beautiful ware, all their endeavours were nothing 
worth, and to this day the potter’s secret remains 
inviolate. 

I stayed in this locality seven days, during 
which time I examined the old Inca bridge and 
viaduct very thoroughly. The priest and the 
Corregidor came down every day, and generally 
brought several Indians with them. I used to 
wait for them on the bridge about 9 a.m. The 
priest, who had made a special study of every- 


THE NASCA AND CANETE VALLEYS 135 


thing relating to the history of the Incas, told me 
quite a lot. I tried several times, without success, 
to measure the bridge accurately, but was unable 
to do so, on account of its dipping every few 
yards. It shook under my weight. On one side 
it was fastened to a big rock, and on the other to 
a wall built up of boulders and stones. It was 
kept in good order by the Indians who lived in 
the villages on either bank of the river, under the 
direction of the Corregidor and Father Francisco, 
my good friend the priest. The latter told me 
there was a similar bridge at Desaquadero * on 
the Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca. (I subse- 
quently visited Desaquadero several times, and 
on one occasion camped there three days in a 
hired hut. The Indians were most kind to me. 
The one who let me the hut had two very nice 
daughters, who cooked and did for me. Every 
morning they brought me fresh fish, and fruit, 
and attended to my comfort. With my gun l 
enjoyed rare sport among the flocks of wild duck 
and flamingoes that frequent this entrancing spot.) 

The old bridge over the Appurimac was con- 
structed of stout planks, lashed together with 
fibre, supplemented by tough steel hawsers pro- 
vided by the Government. It was supported by 
big stone pillars reinforced with heavy hardwood 
logs and weighty baulks of timber. On each side 
of the bridge was a stone path. The whole 
structure was raised about twenty feet above the 
banks of the river. Originally it had been 


* Desaquadero = sluice. 


136 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


covered with fibre matting ; the hawsers had been 
added in recent years, in lieu of those twisted 
of Beluco creeper. This plant, by the way, often 
grows as thick as a ship’s cable. 

At this point the Appurimac is only about 
a hundred yards broad, and the shallow water 
is full of rocks and boulders. But it gradually 
broadens out and gets deeper as it continues its 
course right away to Lima. 

I lunched with the good padre one day, and 
enjoyed the meal very much. It consisted of 
guinea-pig stew, washed down with nice cold 
chicha. My friend the Corregidor saw to it that 
I never ran short of provisions. The Indians 
supplied me with two bottles of goat’s milk for 
one shilling. A fat fowl was obtainable for a 
similar sum. A sheep cost four times as much. 
Fruit was equally cheap, and the valley simply 
teemed with game. The Indians said there were 
plenty of wild pigs, but I never came across any. 

One day, while walking near the river, on 
the look out for martinette, I saw a brace of lovely 
gold and silver pheasants. But they looked so 
beautiful I hadn’t the heart to kill them. Hum- 
ming birds I met with, and also bright green 
parrakeets. The latter nest in sandy cliffs, or 
where gravel is plentiful. 

I had little time to give to prospecting for 
gold, but the Indians said they frequently 
washed some out. One day after they had taken 
off the top soil, I panned out a little gravelly 
clay, and found colour. I had only half a day 


THE NASCA AND CANETE VALLEYS 137 


at it, but in that short period I collected nearly 
half an ounce of straw-coloured gold dust. So 
the metal is evidently there in paying quantities. 

This valley was full of marvellously lovely 
flowers. Here and there one met with catteleya 
orchids, some white, some pale blue, some mauve. 
I didn’t notice any of the scarlet variety. Accord- 
ing to Broadway, the Trinidad Botanical expert, 
and Freeman, the Minister of Agriculture for 
Trinidad, B.W.I., the white catteleya is rarer 
and much more valuable than either the blue or 
the mauve. They held the scarlet in very high 
esteem. It is very seldom seen. Here also was 
to be found, growing in wild profusion, the 
exquisite Peruvian maidenhair fern. In colour it 
is a delicious, dark olive green. Many specimens 
were close on three feet high. Broadway told me 
there is nothing to touch it as a house fern. I 
have known Trinidad since 1902, and have seen 
the same Peruvian ferns, year after year, in 
the fernery at the Botanic Gardens of Trinidad. 
They never seem to fade or wither, but always 
look first rate. President A. B. Leguia has a 
large number of these beautiful ferns growing 
near the entrance of his magnificent private 
palace at Lima. 

The old Inca viaduct I examined on four 
different occasions, accompanied by Father Fran- 
cisco, Don José the Corregidor, and a following 
of twenty to thirty Indians. I tried hard to 
persuade some of the latter to go into the tunnel 
and tell me what it looked like, but, although I 


138 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


offered them every inducement, they refused. 
They said there were too many devils there. 
Father Francisco was no more willing than they. 
*“Couldn’t leave his flock,’ and all that sort of 
thing. The only way out of the difficulty was 
for me to get Indians from another part. So I 
went in alone, and proceeded to explore by the 
light of a horn lantern, lent me by the priest. I 
found the tunnel was decidedly damp in places, 
and, after nosing around, I discovered a tiny 
stream of water trickling through at the base on 
the east side. The tunnel was seven feet high 
and ten feet wide, and had been excavated out 
of the solid red sandstone rock. When one comes 
to consider that it continues for a distance of 
2000 metres, right through the heart of a 1000- 
metre hill, one begins to speculate what manner 
of men were they who, under Maita Capac’s 
direction, were able to execute so marvellous an 
engineering feat with primitive tools. As a 
result of my examination I came to the con- 
clusion that it was quite possible to open up the 
old viaduct and set it in going order. 

Father Francisco and Don José spent the best 
part of every day with me. I was never tired of 
listening to the priest’s interesting yarns of Peru 
in the days of the Incas. He was a very learned 
man, of Spanish origin, and had steeped himself 
in the history of their time. He had read all 
the old books he could come across that referred 
to this mysterious race, and the men who pre- 
ceded them. He said the great Nasca valley 


THE NASCA AND CANETE VALLEYS 139 


originally covered the whole of that part of the 
country, now looked upon as desert, extending 
from the port of Chala right away to Cerro Azul ; 
and from Pisco to Ica—including the Huacachina 
lakes—and past the valley in which we were 
located, right up to the steppes of the Andes. 

In his opinion, it would be well worth the 
while of any company to obtain permission of 
the Government of Peru and excavate round the 
ruins of the old Yungas city. He felt sure they 
would make some notable finds that might throw 
considerable light upon the ancient history of 
Peru. 

Within recent years the good Father’s idea 
has been put to the test, and fully justified. Some 
most interesting relics were found, including 
specimens of the potter’s art that were fortunately 
removed from the debris intact. This was where 
I obtained my Yungas bowl or water-bottle. 
When it came into my possession particles of 
earth still adhered to it. I received it as part of 
my commission for bringing the matter to the 
notice of a French company. They had to 
deposit a large sum with the Peruvian Govern- 
ment before they were allowed to commence 
operations. 

I might have had an easier job with the 
tunnel had the Indians been less superstitious 
and nervous. Besides enormous anacondas and 
coulebras (boa constrictors) and wild beasts of. 
various species, they believed they would meet 
with sundry evil spirits. I could understand 


140 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


their jibbing at pumas, for though the Peruvian 
lion is a coward in the open, he fights like a fiend 
incarnate in the dark. Once upon a time a certain 
Argentine doctor, who was big-game shooting in 
Patagonia, followed a puma into a cave. He 
had a nerve-wracking experience, for almost as 
soon as he got inside, three large pumas advanced 
to meet him, snarling and swearing for all they 
were worth. The doctor thought himself lucky 
to escape by the skin of his teeth. How that 
came to pass affords engrossing reading in 
Col. Roosevelt’s fine book Through the Brazilian 
Wilderness. 

As I have said before, Father Francisco’s 
chief hobby was the ancient history of Peru. He 
told me Don José was a lineal descendant of a 
high-class Indian family who farmed under the 
Incas. Francisco’s account of the great quick- 
silver mines of Huancavelica was most interesting. 
From their discovery some time previous to 
1556, up to the date of our conversations, 160,000 
tons, and more, of cinnabar ore had been won 
from the bowels of the earth. In 1786, owing to 
faulty underpinning, one of the principal tunnels 
collapsed, and entombed 500 Indian workers. 
Hence the annual return fell from about 670 tons 
to 15 cwt. It had, anyhow, decreased to that 
low figure before the great revolution that occurred 
in the early part of the nineteenth century. 
The mines are situated close on 15,000 ft. above 
sea-level, or rather more than 2500 ft. higher 
than the city of Huancavelica. In the mountains 


THE NASCA AND CANETE VALLEYS 141 


round about are rich deposits of gold and silver. 
Mercury is found in many parts of Peru and 
Bolivia, and also in the Argentine, but not in 
such considerable quantities as at Santa Barbara. 
Father Francisco also told me about the cele- 
brated silver mines that are to be found in the 
province of Junin, north of Lima. He said the 
silver won from these mines between 1784 and 
1889 amounted to the enormous sum of forty 
millions sterling. 


CHAPTER XII 


INDIAN POISONS AND MEDICINAL PLANTS 


N this same Nasca valley, where the Yungas 
ruins lay, I several times noted the vine 
which the Indians use in the concoction of 
their famous and most deadly poison called 

Wourahli. Practically all the Indian tribes of 
South America are well versed in its manufacture. 

Various plants and insects enter into its 
composition. ‘The vine, which furnishes the most 
important ingredient, has a grey-coloured stem 
that bears fruit something like an apple, containing 
bitter seeds. In 1903 I gathered some of the 
seeds intending to take them home, but on my 
way remembered the Father’s cautionary words, 
and so threw them away. I should add that 
this vine has a very pretty yellow flower. 
Another ingredient is supplied by a vine bearing 
a small blue flower. ‘The root is crushed, and 
steeped in water four days, until it is all of a 
pulp. The crushed seed of the first vine, together 
with its roots, scraped fine, are then mixed up 
with the pulp, and the whole is boiled for five 
hours. The shavings are next removed and 
thrown away, and the residue allowed to cool. 


Now some crushed Tucandiras ants are added. 
142 


POISONS AND MEDICINAL PLANTS 1438 


The mixture is boiled for another twelve hours, 
and is then ready for use. 

This is the poison into which the Indians dip 
their arrows. It is so deadly that its effect is 
almost instantaneous; yet it does not render 
the flesh of any animal at which it is aimed 
unfit for human consumption! The Manjeroma 
Indians of the Putumayo district use it against 
strangers, or Indians of other tribes, should they 
attempt to abduct their womenfolk. 

I did not notice any specimens of the second 
vine in the Nasca valley, nor any of the ants. (I 
scraped acquaintance with the latter at Sacambaja 
later on. They are about 14 in. long, the males 
being black and the females brown.) But I often 
came across in the valley a fly that was a rotten 
nuisance. It simply delighted in laying its eggs 
in any clothes exposed to the air after being 
washed. 

A species of wild dog was pretty common in 
this locality. I should say it was:a cross between 
a wolverine, or lynx, and a native dog. Similar 
ferocious animals are found in Patagonia and 
Tierra del Fuego. 

As might be expected, fireflies existed in 
myriads, and there was a certain mysterious 
thing, whether insect or animal I cannot be 
quite sure, that emitted a very bright light, far 
greater than the light the fireflies produced. 
The Indians called it the electric rat. I tried 
hard to get a specimen, and deferred my departure 
twenty days in order to do so (and to further 


Oe ys Oe eee BAe bgt ASL ey 


144 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


examine the ruins), but I never touched lucky, 
although on several occasions I saw the mysterious 
light moving about after dark in the thick bush, or 
forest, and fired at it more than once. 3 

Padre Francisco told me the Indians use a 
hair wash made of quassia bark and hard brush- 
wood growing on the lower slopes of the Andes. 
Mixed with scent, it is sold now by many barbers. 
I tried this concoction in combination with other © 
ingredients, on a horse that had the itch, and it 
proved wonderfully efficacious. Once when I 
journeyed home to England, I called at Elvaston 
Castle, and found Lord Harrington’s nice retriever 
was suffering from scabby itch. I tried the hair 
wash on the dog, with such good results that it 
soon afterwards won first prize at a big show. A 
friend of Lord Harrington told me the following 
year that he had used it on his own head, and 
it made his hair grow splendidly. 

One of the most remarkable plants I met with 
is the castor oil plant. The Indians of South 
America, and also those of South Africa, use it 
as a sovereign remedy for tumours, abscesses, and 
boils. Four years after leaving the Nasca valley 
I had an accident, and put my shoulder out. I 
was bandaged up for six weeks. At the end of 
this period a large swelling made its appearance 
under my armpit; so I consulted Dr. Larea, 
who was accounted the most famous surgeon in 
Peru. After examining the place, he said, ‘‘ An 
operation is necessary. Ill come round to you 
in three days’ time, and put it through.” Said I 





INDIANS OF PERENE COLONY. CHANCHAMAYO, EASTERN PERU 





DY Rep Shey ona ere | 
ede 


POISONS AND MEDICINAL PLANTS 145 


to myself, “‘ He shan’t stick a knife into me if I 
can avoid it.” Now on my way home I passed 
through a sugar estate, midway between Lima 
and Callao, and not far from the racecourse. 
There, in a valley, I saw bananas and castor oil 
plants growing wild, so I hopped out of my trap 
and secured some of the latter. That night, just 
before going to bed, I took my horse-lance and 
nicked the swelling, poulticed it with castor oil 
leaves (which I had previously steeped in tepid 
water), and a very few drops of lysol. I renewed 
the poultice three times during the night, and 
continued the applications frequently during the 
two following days. Then I drove over to Larea, 
and showed him the result. He was astonished, 
and exclaimed, “Why, what have you been 
doing toit? Itiscured!” I told him what I had 
done, and, also, that the leaves grew within two 
miles of his office. 

His next question was, ‘‘ And how came you to 
hear of this wonderful remedy ?” I said, “‘ From 
a witch doctor in Africa, near Port Grosvenor 
in Pondoland, and also from a Chilian half-breed 
who lived in the great Aconcagua valley.” 

“ Well,” he said, “‘ you have taught me some- 
thing. This remedy will revolutionize the use of 
the knife. I consider myself a king in my pro- 
fession, as you are in yours, but we can all learn.” 
He wouldn’t rest content till I had driven him over 
to where I had gathered the leaves. On another 
occasion I was asked by a Barbadian lady if I 
could suggest a remedy for an abscess, or tumour, 

| L 


146 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


on her instep, that had made her life a misery. 
After carefully examining it I told her to bathe 
it with lukewarm water, prick it with a needle 
till a spot of blood appeared, apply some of the 
leaves, and, finally, bandage lightly with cotton 
wool. She followed my instructions to the letter, 
and was greatly delighted to find, at the end of — 
four days, that all the poison had been drawn 
out of her foot, and the tumour was beginning 
to heal. Ten days later, as I was out riding, I 
met this good lady’s doctor, one of the cleverest 
in the West Indies. He said, “Get off your 
horse. I want a word with you. What have 
you been doing to Mrs. L.’s foot?” I explained ; 
and he, like the Peruvian, insisted on my telling 
him all I knew about the remedy which, he said, 
was a most marvellous one. He had been fearful 
lest Mrs. L. might lose her foot ; and because of 
that had tried to induce her husband to take her 
away to New York, for change of air. 

Let me cite yet another example. The captain 
of the King of Siam’s yacht—a blood relation 
of Sir William Gordon Cumming—had a brother 
who owned a very valuable Norfolk trotting cob 
of which he was very fond. This animal had 
sustained an injury to its shoulder, which failed 
to respond to ordinary treatment. It got so bad 
that Cumming was afraid it would have to be 
shot. He sent it to me as a last resort. I 
happened to be running my horse hospital at 
the time. When it reached my establishment 
the poor thing was suffering agonies from a 


POISONS AND MEDICINAL PLANTS 147 


wound the size of a large saucer, occasioned by 
great quantities of matter forming at the point 
of its shoulder. I washed the bad place every 
day with lukewarm water and Lysol, cauter- 
izing the edges wherever the veins looked angry, 
or the wound inclined to spread. Then I 
applied a castor oil leaf poultice. This I had 
to fix in place as best I could, for the wound was 
most awkwardly situated. By the end of a 
month the wound began to heal; within a 
couple it had disappeared altogether ; ere another 
four had passed over our heads, the new skin had 
become strong enough to bear the weight of a 
collar. 

As the cure was somewhat of an experiment, 
I charged my friend for the keep of his horse only, 
viz. 3s. a day. His vet. very much wanted to 
know how I had wangled the cure. ‘ Ah,” said 
I, “‘ that’s for others to find out.” Just as if ! 

The leaf of the wild banana is almost as fine 
a specific for boils and tumours as the castor oil 
plant. Another most valuable shrub is the 
papaw tree. It yields a succus, or milk, which 
is very useful in cases of diphtheria, ulcerated 
throat, etc. The leaves help to keep horses in 
good health. A solution of papiene, painted on a 
boil, or abscess, is better than a poultice. Natives 
all over South America use the milk as a remedy 
for rheumatism. In Zululand it is steadily 
relegating the old Zulu specific, viz. cow dung, 
to the background. The papaw fruit is beneficial 
to dyspeptics and folk who have kidney trouble. 





148 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


Natives of Trinidad say that the leaf, applied as 
a poultice, takes away lumbago, sciatica, or 
gouty pains in a single night. One of its virtues 
is much appreciated by housewives, for the leaf, 
rubbed into a piece of tough meat overnight, 
renders it quite nice and juicy by the next morning. 
In the course of my wanderings in South 
America I came across two varieties of chuno. 
The black sort I have already described; the 
white is made as follows: put whole potatoes 
in a cobble-stone well, under the surface of some 
stream or pool. Cover with cobble stones and 
leave for six days; then proceed as when making 
black chuno. White chuno was what the Kaiser 
wanted to get at, in case he thought proper, one 
fine day, to send his soldiers to the Andes. 
Father Francisco’s narrative of how quinine 
first began to be used by the educated classes, 
interested me not a little. It seemed that the 
wife of the Conde de Cinchoa (the first Viceroy 
of Peru) lay very sick of malarial fever at Lima. 


The news of her serious illness reached the ears — 


of the Corregidor of Coja, a town in Ecuador, 
about 150 leagues from Quito. So he sent the 
Conde’s physician some of the bark of the cinchona 
tree. Part of the bark was reduced to powder, and 
part was intact. 

It appears that the Corregidor, when riding 
through the forest near Pancarbamba (this signi- 
fies “‘a flowery plain” in the Quichua dialect), 
met Indians some leagues from Coja carrying 
pieces of bark in their water calabashes. He asked 


POISONS AND MEDICINAL PLANTS 149 


them why they did so. They replied, ‘“‘ Padrone, 
we always take it with us when working or walking 
in the forest. This bark wards off the fever 
occasioned by the damp atmosphere.” As a 
matter of fact I myself have often seen Indians 
carrying this stick and bottle arrangement, in- 
deed, I rarely met any who failed to include it 
in their outfit. 

Well, the Conde’s physician used the bark 
with satisfactory results. When the Countess was 
convalescent she went to Europe for a change. 
She didn’t forget to take with her a supply of the 
wonderful remedy. Its remarkable properties — 
were soon recognized by the Court physicians, and 
they named it, after the country where it originated, 
- Peruvian Bark. This disposes of the claim set 
up by a Jesuit missionary about eighty years 
later. He sent home some of the bark, making 
out that he had discovered it, in consequence it 
was for a long time called Jesuit Bark, almost as 
frequently as Peruvian. The Jesuits first came 
to Paraguay in 1620, and remained there till 
they were expelled in 1767. During that period 
they converted 140,000 heathens to Christianity. 

Among the many customs they found prevalent 
with the Indians was that of drinking tea every 
morning. This concoction differs a lot in appear- 
ance and flavour from China or Indian teas. The 
liquor is lemon-coloured and has a slightly greasy, 
earthy taste, but it is more sustaining than ordi- 
nary tea. The Jesuits soon recognized the possi- 
bilities that were attached to it, and made a big 


150 ADVENTURES IN PERU - 


business of the manufacture of what they called 
Jesuit Tea. 

It is the product of a wild bush called Yerba, 
which is found growing up the Nasca valley and 
in many other parts of South America, though I 
believe it originated in Paraguay. Its full name 
is Yerba mate. The process of manufacture is 
as follows: the twigs of the bush are cut and 
placed on flat stones. Other flat stones are put 
on top. The twigs remain in this primitive press 
for three days; then they are exposed to the 
sun’s rays on mats, and after undergoing sufficient 
curing, are chopped up fine, packed in bales and 
sold at so much a kilo. 

Yerba maté is infused like ordinary tea. I 
used to drink little else up in the Andes when it 
was procurable. Many folk esteem it more highly 
than ordinary tea or coffee. and there is no doubt 
it is more stimulating and invigorating than those 
popular beverages. The Indians all over the 
Atlantic side of the Andes swear by it. I have 
travelled on the snow line of the Andes for 
months at a stretch, in the Provinces of Mendoza, 
San Juan or Rioja, trading among Indians and 
accompanied by Indian muleteers, and I never 
once saw them without it. My old muleteer, 
Simon Cruz, used to take a pinch of maié out of 
his bag and put it in an infuser. This he placed 
in a bright copper bowl, adding sugar to taste. 
Boiling water was then poured over it. The tea 
was now ready for use, and the bowl was passed 
round so that each member of the company 


POISONS AND MEDICINAL PLANTS 151 


in turn could dip the infuser in and place it in 
his mouth. Of course the infuser was kept 
scrupulously clean—very often it was fashioned 
of silver. 

During my stay on the banks of the Appurimac 
near the old Inca bridge, I enjoyed several talks 
with Father Francisco about the missionaries, and 
the large amount of good they had accomplished 
among the peoples of the Andes. Years ago only 
the Roman Church were tolerated, but now 
missionaries of every sect are made welcome, some 
coming from lands as far distant as Canada and 
New Zealand. Francisco thought this was only 
just and right. 

There are now many missionaries located in 
South America who visit all the Indian tribes, 
including the Cunchos of the Savannah of the 
Andes and the so-called savages of the campos 
of Central Peru. All are made welcome. The 
Indians all worship one god, and look upon the 
priests as the representatives of God on earth. 
They call their Church the Church of Christ. 

The missionaries work amicably together for 
the common good. But I think they would 
obtain even better results if they did not crowd 
so much together in the big towns. I should 
like to hear of them visiting the out-of-the-way 
places more frequently. I have been where the 
Indians have been crying out for a priest or 
missionary and haven’t seen one for years. The 
little village in the Challana country may be men- 
tioned as an instance, and I know of many others, 


152 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


In this connection I call to mind the opinion 
of two prominent missionaries—a Presbyterian 
from New Zealand, and another from Canada. 
They confirmed what Francisco told me, and 
said the head missionaries only cared to go to 
such places as had a big church and plenty of 
priests. One of these big pots looked like getting 
into trouble, for his people at Head Quarters 
wrote to him saying, “‘ You have been in Bolivia 
five years; now come home and give an account 
of your stewardship.” 

This man had been in Cochabamba all that 
time and had never been far from it, or absent 
for more than about two days at a stretch. He 
came to me and asked my advice. I suggested — 
he should write saying he could not very well 
return home just then, as he was busy helping 
translate the Scriptures into the Quichua tongue. 
This was no lie, but he could have been easily 
spared, for there were then located in that far- 
away town no fewer than nine missionaries besides 
those of the Roman Church. As a matter of 
fact, one would have sufficed. 

I am much interested in missionary enterprise, 
and am filled with admiration of the wonderful 
work some of the missionaries have accomplished 
in various parts of the world; but I cannot shut 
my eyes to the fact that in South America, at 
least, the Gospel message seems to have had a 
disastrous effect on the morals of the Indians. 
This. may, of course, be attributable to the fact 
that the trader with the rum bottle follows hot- 


POISONS AND MEDICINAL PLANTS 153 


foot after the Gospel messenger. Until the tenets 
of Christianity were preached to them, immorality 
was practically unknown among the Indians. 
Writing of these people a hundred years ago, a 
well-known authority said, ‘‘ Chastity, especially 
in the married state, is a national virtue.” As a 
Christian I cannot but feel humiliated when I 
think of the change that came over some of the 
tribes after they had heard the Word and received 
it gladly. 

In Tierra del Fuego twenty years or more ago, 
the paramount Chief refused to permit foreigners 
to intermingle with his race. Any of his women 
who connived to break this law were banished. 

I remember three gold diggers getting into 
serious trouble, through making advances to some 
Tierra del Fuegian women. They had come over 
from Sandy Point. One was English, one 
Austrian, and the other French. How they 
came to go to Tierra del Fuego was on this wise. 
On one of the trading ships a captain named 
Beelindorf held sway. He had a friend and 
fellow-countryman named Landorf. This man 
had sailed with Beelindorf on several occasions. 
On the first trip he told Beelindorf he had been 
looking for gold seventeen years, and had struck 
itrich. Within the previous two years he claimed 
to have sent £17,000 home. (Landorf always 
paid for two cabins, one on either side of the 
passage, so that no one else should come near 
him.) Well, he went home, came out again, 
and banked other £15,000. The following year 


i! 1. ee be See ee ae . eee fy = im 
£ 25 


154 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


he stayed only five months in Tierra del Fuego, 
and intended to return with Beelindorf the next 
trip, having put by yet another £10,000. Then he 
meant going home for good. 

“Where do you get all this red stuff?” 
inquired Beelindorf. ‘In the very wildest part 
of Tierra del Fuego,” Landorf replied. ‘‘ It took 
me fifteen years to discover. It’s all alluvial.” 
Beelindorf asked him the whereabouts of this 
bonanza, but lLandorf refused point-blank. 
** Find it yourself,” he snarled. 

Now Landorf’s good luck got noised abroad, 
and came to the ears of the three diggers. 
Deciding to have a shot at it, they interviewed 
the paramount Chief. That worthy said, “ Yes, 
it is quite true; a Gringo was here last year and 
found plenty of gold. You are at liberty to go 
and do likewise; only you must find out the 
place for yourselves, and you must not interfere 
in any shape or form with the Indian women. 
We do not want our blood mixed.” 

Of course the diggers were delighted at being 
thus given practically a free hand, and at first 
regarded the cautionary advice of the chief 
respecting his womenfolk. But within a while 
they got careless, and began to approach some 
of the Fuegian girls. So soon as the diggers began 
to talk of love the girls ran away, and reported 
the matter to their head men. In due course it 
reached the Chief’s ear. He sent for the offenders 
and repeated his warning, adding that if they 
transgressed again it would be at their own risk. 





POISONS AND MEDICINAL PLANTS 155 


The diggers were foolish enough to repeat their 
offence, not once but twice. Retribution swiftly 
followed, but in what shape or form one can only 
surmise. Anyhow the Frenchman and English- 
man were never seen again. I may say that 
the latter came from a place I visited some time 
after these occurrences took place, and_ his 
relatives told me they had never heard of him 
since. The Austrian was the only one of the 
three about whom anything definite was ever 
known. The Fuegians seemed to have put him 
through the mill pretty thoroughly, and wound 
up by shaving his head. All the hairs round his 
forehead they pulled out one by one, and then 
kicked him out of their country. At Sandy Point 
he laid a complaint with the gentleman who offici- 
ated as Consul for the three countries interested in 
the matter. But he got no sympathy from the 
Consul. “No,” said that gentleman, “I cannot 
- interfere. The Chief may do as he likes in Tierra 
del Fuego. You knew what his regulations were 
with regard to native women. You were thrice 
warned not to break them, but disobeyed. Now 
you must put up with the consequences.’ 

Another incident affords additional evidence 
of the attitude the Indians took up in regard to 
sexual matters. At the foot of the Andes an 
old priest was pointed out to me as a man who 
had been engaged on missionary work up the 
Beni River. One day, much to everybody’s 
surprise, so said my informant, he arrived back 
escorted by a guard of Indians. It appears he 


156 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


had so far forgotten his sacred office as to make 
overtures to an Indian girl. She declined, saying 
it was against the law of her country, and reported 
the matter to her people. They took it up with 
the priest ; but he said, ‘‘ Oh, it is all right, ’m 
a holy man.” “ Holy man or not,” they replied, 
“we do not tolerate that sort of thing”; and 
toted him off to his Archbishop. That dignitary 
reported the result of his inquiry to the head of 
his Church. His Holiness directed that the culprit 
should be imprisoned in a monastery for twenty 
or twenty-five years, I forget which. I saw the 
prisoner many times and had several chats with 
him. He was allowed to take exercise in a park 
that happened to be within a stone’s throw of my 
establishment. 

As regards the Indian law relative to taking 
their women out of the country without permis- 
sion, I have already quoted incidents. Another 
occurs to mind. The foreman of a gang of rubber 
pickers operating on the Beni district, married 
one of the local girls and brought her back to 
Oruro. He had only returned a few weeks, when 
some of the Indians employed about the place 
began to make reference to his escapade, and 
hinted he would be lucky if he escaped serious 
consequences. The foreman got so “ratted”’ at 
what was said that he approached Penny on the 
subject. Few men were better versed in native 
customs than M. M. P. He at once recognized 
the dangerous position in which the man had 
placed himself, and, accordingly, got him a 


POISONS AND MEDICINAL PLANTS 157 


situation in Chile. There I saw the man and his 
wife, and talked with them several times. They 
were both afraid to go back home, because of 
the penalties that attach to the breaking of the 
old Indian law. 

Some of the most interesting chats I had with 
Father Francisco in the Nasca Valley, and sub- 
sequently aboard ship, had reference to the 
superstitions and beliefs of the Indians. Francisco 
had a rich store of information to impart, and he 
found in me an eager and willing listener. He 
was no less anxious to hear my experiences in 
connection with this absorbing subject. The one 
that he seemed to find most interesting occurred 
to me on the occasion of my first excursion to 
Sacambaja to try and locate the Caballo Cunco 
treasure. 

About four hours’ ride from Palca, a little 
village on top of a hill which one passes through 
after crossing the river that runs down the other 
side of the Tunani Pass, I decided to give the 
cargo mules a rest while I had some lunch. Near 
by the stone on which I sat was a big rock. I 
was much surprised to notice that it bore the 
impress of a delicate female hand. As I pondered 
over this strange circumstance, an old Indian 
‘woman and three younger ones came down the 
path and stopped opposite the rock. From the 
old woman I learnt that about thirty years 
previously, as she was sitting outside her hut 
not far from this rock, the Virgin appeared to 
her. She was dressed in white apparel and had 


158 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


a halo round her head. The apparition lasted 
but a moment and as it disappeared stooped 
down and pressed one of her hands on the boulder. 
Next morning the impression was distinctly 
visible. One of the girls confirmed the old 
woman’s tale. She had heard it from her father 
who had witnessed the occurrence. All the 
Indians in the neighbourhood believed implicitly 
in the truth of the narrative, and the village priest 
also vouched for it. 

I heard of an incident that was equally 
inexplicable in the Island of Trinidad, B.W.I., in 
1915. Among my acquaintances I numbered 
one, Father Ambrose, the priest of Arouca and 
Tunapuna. I frequently visited him. One day 
he told me of a strange occurrence that had taken 
place the previous year. He said, “ You have 
seen in our church the figure of the Blessed 
Virgin?”’ I assented. ‘‘ Well,” the Father pro- 
ceeded, “‘on the Friday before the Great War 
commenced, I was engaged in seeing that every- 
thing was seemly and in good order, when my 
attention was attracted to the sacred figure. I 
distinctly saw tears trickle down its cheeks. I 
was so astounded that I hurried from the church, 
jumped on my bicycle, and conveyed the extra- 
ordinary news to several members of my flock. 
They followed me back and witnessed the same 
amazing spectacle. The flow of tears continued for 
twelve hours, and then stopped.”’ Father Ambrose, 
although a man of the world, was not given to 
exaggerate. He told me this tale in all seriousness. 


POISONS AND MEDICINAL PLANTS 159 


I bought a photo of the sacred figure, taken at 
the time, and inspected a document, signed by 
eight or ten persons, in which the details of this 
mysterious occurrence were recorded. Arouca 
is not very far from Port of Spain, and Ambrose 
was cousin to the Abbot of Mount St. Ber- 
nard, a cleric who had migrated with his staff 
from Pernambuco. Ambrose was a very well- 
informed man, and I gleaned much information 
from him concerning various matters in which I 
felt an interest. He was able, for instance, to 
give me the history of the Brazilian Black Stone— | 
better known, perhaps, as the Belgian Black 
Stone—an artificial product that is claimed to 
be a sure remedy for the bites of snakes, scorpions, 
ete. ; | 

_ Guavas and cauchus are plentiful in most parts 
of South America. A wine is made from cauchus 
much resembling champagne Cliquot. One day 
the Father was looking around for some of these 
fruits, when a poisonous snake stung his instep. 
An Indian immediately took a small quantity of 
black powder from a box that he carried, mixed 
it into a paste with his spittle and smeared it 
on the place. Much to Ambrose’s surprise, it 
proved entirely efficacious. Not unnaturally he 
tried hard to find out what the black powder was, 
but didn’t succeed for two years. ‘Then he was 
told by a friendly Indian what the ingredients 
were. Ambrose soon procured a stock, and, after 
puzzling his brains, managed to fix them up into 
small stones about the size of a shilling. These 


160 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


he was able to dispose of readily at a dollar a 
time. 

The stone was used in the following manner. 
When a person was bitten by anything poisonous 
the place was pricked until a drop of blood 
appeared. The stone was then applied to the 
puncture. Within about half an hour it would 
draw out all the poison. To restore the stone 
to its original condition, one had to place it in 
water for twenty-four hours. Soon the poison 
oozed out of the stone, and came bubbling up 
to the surface. A thorough soaking in milk was 
the next and final process. After this the stone 
was quite fit for use once more. 

I can vouch for the efficacy of this stone when 
used for scorpion bite. Ambrose told me of many 
instances where it saved people from the evil 
effects of snake bite. He said all the ingredients 
were to be found near Arouca; so, being mindful 
of the main chance, he decided to see whether — 
he could not introduce the stone to a larger 
clientele. His idea was to form a syndicate 
of three—himself, a chemist, and a Belgian doctor 
—and place the stone on the open market in 
considerable quantities. Half the profits were 
to go to the chemist. The residue Ambrose 
intended to divide between himself and the 
medico. I do not know what measure of success 
attended the venture. But some of the products 
got as far as England, for | came across one 
of the stones at St. Augustine’s College, Ramsgate, 
and I myself have two. One I applied to my leg 


POISONS AND MEDICINAL PLANTS 161 


when stung by a poisonous insect, with very 
satisfactory results, and a lady of my acquaintance 
succeeded in warding off the ill effects of a black 
scorpion’s bite with one of Ambrose’s products. 
In appearance the stones closely resemble pieces of 
blue-black coal, and are not at all like the blue 
stone sometimes used in agricultural districts for 
humoury legs. 


CHAPTER XIII 


ON THE CATTLE BOATS 


MADE my way back to Lima, after com- 
pleting my survey, by the same way I had 
come. The crossing of the forty-eight mile 
stretch of desert occupied one day. Then 

we put in two days at the ranch we visited on 
the outward trail. There I shot a martinette and 
five parrots for the pot. The valley looked beau- 
tiful, all aglow with lovely flowers, interspersed 
with tropical plants and ferns. 

The Indians told me they had been greatly 
troubled by a tiger since I was last there. I have 
no doubt in my own mind that what they called 
a tiger was really a jaguar, only of a much larger 
species than the ordinary. I had a good hunt 
round for the marauder, but was not fortunate 
enough to come across him. 

On the morning of the third day we started 
off early over the last stretch of desert ; and after 
an uneventful journey, arrived at the place at 
which I purposed to halt, viz. a ranch which I 
hired of the Indian proprietor for 2s. a day. We 
rested two nights and a day, and then rode on 
to the Santa Barbara estate where I was the guest 


of the manager for four days. 
162 


ON THE CATTLE BOATS 163 


Here I enjoyed some sea bathing, and also rode 
round inquiring of the West Indians employed by 
the Sugar Company whether they had any com- 
plaints to make. I did this on behalf of my Lima 
friend and Mr. Beauclerc, the British Minister. It 
was gratifying to learn that the workers were all 
satisfied with the treatment accorded them by the 
manager and his subordinates. All, that is, save 
one. ‘This man was very cross, because his donkey 
had been shot bythe manager’sorders. It appeared 
that he hadn’t taken the trouble to tie up his 
animal at the edge of the plantation as directed ; 
the result was it strayed and did considerable 
damage to quite a lot of sugar cane. As no 
notice was taken of repeated warnings, the 
death penalty was imposed on the donkey, and 
duly executed. I told the grumbler that it 
served him right; he had only got what he 
deserved. 

Kventually the Sugar Company had to employ 
Japanese labour, for the West Indians, though 
good workers, were bad “‘stickers”; after a while 
_ they developed a habit of taking a day off when- 
ever they thought fit. As a natural consequence 
the mills had frequently to stand idle for lack 
of sugar cane. 

On the way to Callao we called at Chala, a — 
port thirty-seven miles south from Lima, which 
supplied every year thousands of small bullocks 
to Callao and Lima. Round Chala there is a 
great scarcity of grass, and the animals have to 
go short, as very little grows beside the road 


164 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


along which they are driven from the beautiful 
Pullo Valley thirty leagues away, starting not 
far from Coro Coro. | 

One of the steamers of the Grace line was 
named after this town. On a certain occasion 
when going to the Falkland Islands, intending to 
ship thence to Iquique, I met Captain Thompson, 
her skipper. He dined with me and Captain 
Beelindorf on the Janis. After dinner we sat 
smoking and chatting for a considerable time, and 
Thompson tried to persuade Beelindorf to take 
advantage of the lovely night and proceed by 
Gmith’s Channel. ‘‘ Look,” he said, “ you could. 
read a paper by the light of the moon.” 

“No,” said Beelindorf. “ You can do as you 
like, but I’m not coming. My father is a 
director and shareholder of the company who 
owns this ship, and his last words to me were, 
‘T’ve got you this job as captain of the Tanis ; 
mind you stick to it, and obey the rules implicitly, 
especially those imposed by the Assurance 
Company.’ One of these,” continued Beelin- 
dorf, ‘‘ forbids most emphatically any attempt 
to travel by Smith’s Channel or Magellan Straits 
between sunset and sunrise. ‘Therefore | intend 
to stay where I am to-night.” 

Thompson laughed and said he had done the 
trip altogether forty-two times, man and boy; 
there was not the least particle of danger hanging 
to it, and therefore he should go on. Soon after 
he left us and went aboard his vessel. 

Next morning, as I was preparing for my bath, 


ON THE CATTLE BOATS 165 


Beelindorf came and invited me to take coffee 
with him in his cabin. 

* After that,” he said, ‘we must go and see 
what we can do for old Thompson. Heis on the 
rocks !”’ 

And on the rocks he was of asurety. We found 
the Coro Coro piled high and dry on a pinnacle- 
shaped rock, 5 ft. of which had penetrated right 
up into her hold. Thompson was beside himself, 
and it took us all our time to calm him down. 
Under the soothing influence of a stiff brandy and 
soda he recovered his balance sufficiently to 
explain how the Coro Coro got cast away. ‘‘ We 
were only going half speed,” he said, ‘“‘ when we 
sighted what looked like land on the port bow. 
So we steered away from it, and had gone but a 
very short distance when the boat grounded. 
What we had seen and tried to avoid was simply 
the shadow of the land, cast by the deceptive 
moonlight ! ”’ 

The long and short of it was that all the cargo 
had to be unloaded and put ashore. The Coro 
Coro we had to leave to her fate. Jammed on 
the rock she remains to this day, and affords 
lodgment to several Indian families. The owners 
never recovered a penny of the insurance money ; 
but they forgave Thompson, I am glad to 
say. 
Round Pullo and Coro Coro the principal 
industry is raising stock for Lima. Although 
little natural grass grows here, the soil is well 
adapted for maize and barley and alfalfa. It is 


166 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


easy to obtain three crops of alfalfa in fifteen 
months. Fruit also is very plentiful. 

Cattle often start off to Chala in nice fat 
condition, but, owing to the scarcity of grass 
before referred to, lose weight on the way down. 
The cruellest part of this cattle business 1s, how- 
ever, that the owners are absolutely callous to 
the poor beasts’ sufferings, and notwithstanding 
that they have been practically four days without 
food, sling them aboard the steamer by their 
horns and let them get on as best they can for 
another two days, minus food and water. I 
remember one noble (!) gent shipping 200 head 
of cattle to Callao on the Santiago, in which I had 
consigned twenty-two racehorses, besides two 
carriage horses and my arab hack. My animals 
were all well fed twice a day; those belonging to 
the noble gent got nothing. The latter stood 
seeing my horses being fed a couple of days, and. 
then about twenty of them broke loose and 
stampeded. I permitted my lads to assist in 
recapturing them, on the understanding that I 
was indemnified against all risks. When we got 
to Callao the N.G. aforesaid had to pay £200 
before he was allowed to unship his cattle. 

In my opinion drastic alterations are required. 
In the first place the animals should be shipped 
and unshipped as in Venezuela, viz. by making 
use of flat-bottomed boats and gangways. Hard-— 
ships would thus be eliminated. As regards 
feeding, this could be easily managed all the way 
down from the valley to within fifteen miles of — 


ON THE CATTLE BOATS 167 


the port of embarkation. Sufficient alfalfa could 
be loaded up on forage carts which make their 
own track. Owners would be amply repaid for 
their extra trouble and expense by the additional 
money their beasts would fetch. 

I once bought forty-four sheep in conjunction 
with Captain Amy, at Pickut Harbour, Smith’s 
Channel. At the same time a Frenchman took 
800 from the same flock, and at the same price, 
for Mrs. Noguera. He neither fed nor watered 
them aboard the ship until two days out, and 
then only now and then. Asa consequence several 
sheep died on the journey, and the remainder, 
when they reached Iquique, fetched 2s. less per 
head than he gave for them. Ours had been 
properly cared for, and each paid us a profit of 
10s. The original price per sheep put aboard 
at Pickut Harbour was 8s., and freightage to 
Iquigque raised this figure to 13s. When we 
arrived at our destination, the Frenchman’s 
uncared-for animals fetched lls. each, sold by 
public auction; dealers were content to pay 
us 23s. apiece for ours, on board. Some difference 
that ! 

There is no doubt that the reason why our 
sheep fetched more than twice as much as the 
Frenchman’s was the careful manner in which 
they had been looked after and cared for by the 
captain, his good lady, and myself. Some of 
them were pretty sturdy, and that’s a fact. 

Talking about Mrs. Noguera, I am reminded 
of her late husband. Portuguee Joe was something 


168 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


of a character. He had been half-owner of a 
big whaler and sold his share for £10,000. With 
the money thus obtained, he embarked in sealing 
on his own account, and also did a bit of gold 
digging. All of his profits he invested in sheep 
lands in Patagonia and at Pickut Harbour. He 
died a millionaire, and left the interest accruing 
from his vast possessions to his widow until she 
married again. Mrs. Noguera eventually hitched 
up with a captain of the Chilian navy. Before 
he became a benedict, Portuguee Joe speculated 
with a butcher named Brown. Said he to him 
one day, “Give me your daughter in marriage, 
and I will put some money into your business.” 
Brown was agreeable, although his daughter was 
but sixteen years of age, and Joe forty; so the 
wedding came off. I may add that the firm of 
Brown and Blanchard is to-day reputed one of 
the most wealthy in Sandy Point. 

Joe and his partner suffered not a little from 
the peculations of passers-by. This is how Joe 
put a stop to the thievish practice. He hid 
behind the doors of their big stall, and whenever 
he noticed anyone trying to annex any of the 
meat, he would pop out and discharge a gun loaded 
with black powder and rock salt at their legs. 
Once was quite enough, in the majority of 
instances! The same method was successfully 
adopted by W. Hunt, a Chilian nicknamed 
Prussian Bill, who owned the famous racehorse 
Thunderer. 

The captain and I were offered the contract 


ON THE CATTLE BOATS 169 


to supply the nitrate fields of that popular 
Sportsman, the late Colonel North, with 800 
sheep and from 180 to 250 bullocks every six 
weeks. Only lack of capital prevented our taking 
it up. 

As with sheep so with mules. I have fre- 
quently left Los Andes via Valparaiso with a 
skinny, decrepit lot en route for Callao by a slow 
steamer. Before they reached their destination 
they became quite fat and well. It only shows 
what a little common-sense treatment will do. 


CHAPTER XIV 


TALES OF FAR PERU 


O know Peru well one must not be con- 
tent to scrape acquaintance only with 
her barren coast-line which extends 
from Payta right away to Antofagasta 

in Chile—past Areca, Iquique, and Pisagua, all 
formerly part of Peru. One requires to penetrate 
into the interior. Her innumerable beautiful 
valleys and plains must be explored, ere one can 
form a just idea of this lovely and most interesting 
country. One has only to journey a very few 
leagues inland, to enter upon lands fertile almost 
beyond belief. One needs but to plant and iri- 
gate ; the wonderful soil does the rest. 

Among the places not too far distant from the 
~ coast that one can visit with the expenditure of 
a small amount of energy, may be mentioned 
Chupa, Arequipa, Mollendo, Jura, Cuzco, the 
entrancing valley of Huatenay, and the old city 
of Machu Picchu. 

Chupa—Spanish for “suck”—five leagues 
from Chala, is a great fruit-growing centre. Here 
are raised amazing quantities of pipless oranges, 
grenadillas, cherimoyas, paltas, pines, and ban- — 


anas, all for shipment to Lima. They are con- 
170 


TALES OF FAR PERU 171 


veyed to the coast on mules and pack donkeys, and 
then put up in baskets. Living is very cheap. 
In 1921 one could buy sheep and horses on most 
reasonable terms. The climate is healthy, and 
the atmosphere beautiful. One can ride all day 
long without once touching macadam roads—the 
bugbear of the prairie lover. The country-folk 
are most hospitable, and will let one have anything 
in the way of food and fruit at ‘‘ rock-bottom” 
prices. 
| Mollendo, the port for Arequipa, is 7600 ft. 
above sea-level, and is noted for its fine and invigor- 
ating atmosphere. It is a very clean, healthy 
town, with a grand old cathedral dating back to 
Pizarro’s time ; and there are some very interesting 
ruins only a few leagues away. 

Jura is but a couple of hours’ train ride from 
Arequipa. Its noted medicinal baths, situated 
9000 ft. up, are fully described in Adventures on 
Bolivia. What I have said about the remarkable 
properties of these truly marvellous baths, is only 
a, tithe of the truth. To all I have written about 
Jura I would add this. No matter what your 
complaint, never give up hope until you have 
given her baths a trial. 

Besides the cases noted in my Bolivian book, 
I was acquainted with many more. Not the 
least remarkable concerned a rich merchant of 
Iquique, who kept a large ship-chandler’s store, 
and also dabbled in nitrate. A martyr to rheu- 
matism and sciatica, he had spent a vast sum 
of money in trying to get some relief from his 


172 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


complaints. He had visited French and English 
doctors, and had even gone as far as Russia in 
order to see whether certain celebrated mud 
baths would do him good, but obtained only 
negative results. 

At last an English doctor said, ““ Why not try 
one of the Inca baths Prescott speaks so highly 
of in his history of Peru ? ”’ 

Three or four occurred to the merchant’s mind : 
Canquenes in Chile, some distance from Santiago ; 
Chillan, sixty miles beyond the town of Chillan ; 
Jura near Arequipa, and Lake Huacachina, by 
Ica. Of these he chose Jura, and made the best 
of his way there without further delay, accom- 
panied by his wife, two daughters and a man- 
servant. When he reached the baths, he was 
absolutely helpless, and was quite unable to walk 
without assistance. 

The party took up their residence in three 
cottages belonging to the Municipality of Arequipa. 
(As regards accommodation and fittings, they 
were exactly similar to Piccione’s at Huacachina, 
being, as a matter of fact, modelled from his.) 
These good people remained at Jura three months. 
Being an Italian, the man claimed friendship with 
Morosini who kept the big hotel there, and men- 
tioned my name to him. Morosini told me that 
the first week his compatriot had to be carried to 
the baths, by himself and the valet. The second 
week he was able to walk with hardly any assist- 
ance whatever; and the third week, to show 
what great strides he had made towards perfect 





N CH, AREQUIPA 


NIA CHUR 


APA 





E, OF CA 


FACAD 





TALES OF FAR PERU. 173 


convalescence, he danced an Italian hornpipe! 
In celebration of his cure he gave a dinner at 
Morosini’s, to which he invited all the Italians 
who were taking the waters. 

Morosini advised him to remain at Jura another 
month to make assurance doubly sure. “A 
month!” exclaimed the rejuvenated cripple, 
““T mean to stay another three! Jura just suits 
me down to the ground.” So he bought a horse 
for himself, and a couple of the four-nostrilled 
donkeys peculiar to the district. Thenceforward 
~ heand his Chilian valet were always out and about, 
exploring the country round Jura, potting duck 
and partridges, or bent on searching out fresh 
varieties of cacti, which flourish here as if this and 
no other place was their true home. 

These are indeed magnificent. No words 
could describe the wonderful sight they present 
to the eye. I used to visit, every day when I was 
at Jura, their chief haunts, just for the pleasure of 
gazing on their loveliness. Imagine blooms, bigger 
than saucers, all a riot of gorgeous colour. Reds, 
red and orange, bluish mauve, white, yellow, at 
a little distance they looked like gigantic beds of 
-opals. Altogether I visited Jura eight times. 
I always went there to get myself in good fettle 
for my mining expeditions; and I invariably 
put in a fortnight on my way back from prospect- 
ing, to recuperate, previous to returning to 
England. 

Four months really elapsed before the ship- 
chandler man bade good-bye to Jura. He said 


174. ADVENTURES IN PERU 


he was perfectly cured, and though, since then, 
he has written Morosini quite a number of letters, 
he has never once referred to his old malady, 
so we must assume the cure was permanent. 

Morosini, himself, first went to Jura to see 
what the baths could do for him, for he had 
acute dyspepsia. Under the water’s influence 
his complaint vanished like smoke before the 
wind, so he decided to stay at Jura and do a bit 
of prospecting. He was curious to learn what 
riches lay hidden beneath the mighty peaks that 
tower up all round. Gold, silver, copper, and tin 
indications were plentiful, and vast formations of 
limestone and quartz hinted of emeralds waiting 
to be won. Ultimately Morosini resolved to make 
Jura his permanent abode, so he bought some 
ground off the Peruvian Government and built 
himself a fine hotel. (The terms on which he 
secured the ground were very exceptional. In 
return he engaged not to charge more than 24 sols 
per day for a double-bedded room, nor more than 
34 sols where a person wanted a whole room to 
himself, These charges included early coffee, ten 
o’clock breakfast and late dinner. Only lunch 
was extra, so the accommodation was both good 
and cheap.) 

I once went prospecting with Morosini. 
Though we weren’t out long enough to get very 
good results, we found indications of gold in pay- 
ing quantities. On another occasion my com- 
panion was Horne, M. M. Penny’s assayer. With 
him of course I had to take matters more seriously ; 


TALES OF FAR PERU 175 


still, for all that, I enjoyed myself. We used to 
start off every day, each carrying a bottle of beer, 
some soda water, native bread and cold meat ; 
and at the end of our expeditions there wasn’t 
much likely ground within a fifteen-mile radius of 
Jura, that we had not investigated. I say “ We” 
out of courtesy, for Horne didn’t care for the 
sweat of nosing around precipices, and so forth. 
He preferred to sit and smoke and read, while 
I did the donkey work. I don’t blame him, as 
I dare say I should have done the same had our 
positions been reversed. Anyhow he was able 
to appraise the samples I obtained on the spot. 

My idea in looking round was to take time by 
the forelock, so that if Penny and Minchin went 
“ off song”’ on tin, and decided to open out in 
gold and silver between Titicaca and Jura, I 
might have some data ready to hand. We hap- 
pened upon no old mines round Jura, but about 
fifteen miles from the baths we came across an 
aged Indian, who put me wise as to the situation 
of several gold propositions, a bit further off in 
the direction of Arequipa. 

This old boy was a miner by trade, and had 
for years, so he said, worked a mine on his own. 
I gathered it was of the placer variety, and located 
about thirty leagues from where he lived. During 
the three days I stayed at his house, this Indian 
gave me much valuable information about mining 
and mining propositions. At his mine, it was so 
cold all through the winter months, that he 
and his assistants had to thaw the ground, by 


176 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


building fires on it, before they could get at the 
gold. But he had evidently done himself a bit of 
good over the affair, for he owned lots of llamas 
and farmed some nice breadths of barley and 
wheat. 

Antonio, my old Indian friend, showed me 
the kind of clothes he wore during his mining 
operations. They were made of guanaco skin 
with the fur inside. Underneath he wore garments 
knitted of llama wool. His boots came more than 
halfway up his calves, and were not unlike 
hunting boots. They were very soft and pliable, 
made of whole thigh pieces of guanaco skin, fur 
inside. Over these boots Antonio wore sandals, 
having very thick soles of bullock hide and tied 
with gut. Vicufia wool stockings completed the 
outfit. 'The Indian women round about where 
Antonio lives are great hands at making socks. 
Their workmanship is excellent ; but beyond that 
I think they must treat their yarn in some par- 
ticular way, for the articles they turn out seem to 

wear much longer than any other sort. Vicufia 
- gocks cost 10s. per pair; those made of llama 
or sheep wool, only 4s. The vicufias and 
llamas easily outlast twenty or thirty pairs of 
European manufacture. I have never seen them 
offered for sale in large quantities Si: at 
Cuzco, Arequipa, or La Paz. 

When I left Antonio’s place to return to Jura, 
I rode El Pasha. My other horse, Luftibus, was 
still feeling the effects of a good gallop I had had, 
three days previously, after guanacos. The hunt 


TALES OF FAR PERU 177 


had been arranged by Antonio partly for my 
entertainment, and partly for the sake of his own 
larder. He had nine big dogs of the crossed 
deerhound type, just the sort for the job we had on 
hand. 

Our party consisted of Antonio and his two 
sons, mounted on good mules, a couple of Indians 
on horseback, and several on foot. The mounted 
men were all expert bola-throwers, and carried 
their native weapon with them coiled up ready 
for use on the peak of their saddles. I was the 
only rifleman of the company, and had my big- 
bore Winchester. 

One of the Indians notified Antonio that there 
were some guanacos over the other side of some 
hills that stretched up to the horizon about three 
or four leagues away. Our way lay through 
delightful scenery resplendent with dazzling cacti, 
but we were all too much engaged in weighing up 
our chances of a successful hunt to pay a great 
deal of heed to our sublime surroundings. I rode 
El Pasha up to the hills and then changed to 
Luftibus. We were now on the feeding ground 
of the guanacos and vicufias, called by the Indians 
for that reason Los Guanacos. To reach the other 
side of the mountain range we had to negotiate 
a rather awkward pass. It was only 12,500 ft. 
up, but in some respects it was a bit of a teaser. 
The track was an old Inca path, so narrow that 
we had to.proceed in Indian file. First rode the 
Indian scout, then came Antonio, next followed 
my unworthy self, and behind me Poncho carrying 

N 


178 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


my rifle. I took charge of the cartridges, in 
accordance with my usual custom. 

After reaching the summit we rode downhill, 
a matter of six miles or more, and then came to a 
part of the High Flats which our scout said was 
much frequented by guanacos. We continued. 
on our way for half an hour, keeping a bright 
look-out for any signs of our quarry. Soon we 
picked up the spoor, and, after following it for 
another half-hour, saw in the distance a big herd 
of guanacos. To get within range of them without 
giving them notice of our approach was a stiff 
problem. Happily Antonio knew of a convenient 

gulley that enabled us to outflank the timid 
animals. This brought us to the border of the High 
Flats. When we had approached within 300 yards 
of them, the herd scented us and took fright, 
I at once dismounted and, sighting my rifle at 
300 yards, pulled trigger. By great good fortune 
I killed one of the guanacos. For my second — 
shot I raised my sight to 500 yards, and let drive. 
Another member of the herd at once dropped 
behind his fellows and limped along on three legs, 
evidently hit pretty hard. 

Antonio slipped his dogs, and followed “ Hell 
for Leather,” dinging along at a good hard gallop 
over an expanse of ground as flat as a billiard 
table. For full twenty minutes I enjoyed one of 
the finest rides of my life. Then the dogs got to 
the heels of the wounded animal, and soon brought 
it to bay. They had been so well trained that 
they didn’t attempt to molest it, but simply circled 


TALES OF FAR PERU 179 


round, barking until their master arrived upon the 
scene. Antonio at once threw his bola, and en- 
tangled the animal at the first attempt. Poncho 
then ran in and cut its throat. 

Five miles at least was, I guess, the extent of 
our jolly little spin. By the time it concluded, 
old Luftibus knew that he had done a bit of weight 
carrying, for I rode about 19 stone. 

Two days later I was at Jura. Almost the first 
person I came across there was Humpty Dumpty. 
I shall never forget how our acquaintance started. 
When I was on my way to the Challana country, 
and had got as far as where one has to think 
about leaving the Tipuani-Beni road and take to — 
the footpath known only to a few persons that 
leads to a small tributary of the Challana River, 
all of a sudden a fellow came riding down a road 
on our left. He bestrode a fine black mule. 
Behind him, also a-muleback, came a very good- 
looking Indian girl, accompanied by two young- 
sters, one of whom she carried slung across her 
shoulders ; the other—a mite of three summers— 
was perched on the forepart of the saddle. Two 
Indians and three cargo mules followed behind. 

The stranger gave me a very breezy greeting. 
** Hulloa! What’s your name? Where do you 
come from ? and where are you agoing to? I’m 
good old Humpty Dumpty.” 

We both dismounted and had a bit of a yarn 
together. Dumpty said he had just come from 
the Beni district where he had a store, and filled in 
his time buying rubber for a man who was backing 


180 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


him up to £10,000, so there was no immediate 
reason for him to worry about ways and means. 

Previously Dumpty had been engineer on one of 
the P. 8S. N. Co.’s boats ; but had got touched with 
the gold fever and left his job to go to the Tipuani 
washings, where he and a fellow named Melville 
worked with Mackenzie for some time. Then he 
picked up with Brummagem Joe and became his 
agent. 

When I told Dumpty where I was going, and 
the purport of my journey, he strongly advised me 
to turn back. “They will never let you in,” he 
said, “‘ and you'll be very lucky if you don’t come 
to harm.” At this point his wife intervened. 
“ Prodgers is all right,’ she said. ‘“‘ They will 
let him in.” She evidently knew something, but 
I didn’t press for information; that was forth- 
coming subsequently. | 

After we had enjoyed a nice little chat we 
parted, he going his way and I mine. On my return 
journey I met him again at the Hotel Guibert, 
in La Paz. I inquired after his wife. He then 
told me she was a Beni woman and, as a natural 
consequence, had to turn back so soon as they 
reached the Tipuani. He had married her, so 
I discovered, out of gratitude for curing him of 
lupus. She used to paint the affected places with 
a concoction of herbs and earths, a secret remedy 
of her tribe. I told Dumpty all about Jura, and 
persuaded him to finish off his cure there. 

The following year I went to Jura, and found he 
had taken my advice. The baths had applied the 





TALES OF FAR PERU 181 


finishing touch as I had anticipated, and his ear 
was quite all right. It was, in fact, as clean as 
a smelt. 

By the way, we had an amusing deal together. 
He asked me to bring him out from England on my 
next trip a quantity of cheap jewellery for his 
store. He said he could dispose of it so as to make 
1 per cent. profit. ‘That means 100 per cent. 
I suppose,” I exclaimed. “No,” he retorted, 
“‘] per cent. What you charge me £1 for, I shall 
get £5 to £10 for!” 

Lupus is a terrible disease, but Sana is even 
worse. Sana is a variety of pox that sometimes 
affects llamas, and is contracted by human beings 
who come in contact with their sputum. A 
fruitful source of infection is also the bestial habits 
of some of the natives. To counteract this 
menace, the Governments of Peru and Bolivia 
will not allow Indians to travel with llamas for a 
period of more than fourteen days unless they take 
their wives with them. If the natives have a spite 
against anyone they frequently find means to 
infect them with this unsavoury disease. It 
generally manifests itself in unsightly sores and 
scabs which extend all over the subject’s head till 
it is a mass of putridity. The Indian remedy is a 
simple and efficacious one, but few Europeans 
would care to take it. Some, in fact, would esteem 
- it too horrible for words. Whenever the malady 
_ yields to treatment prescribed by ordinary practi- 
tioners, the disease leaves behind it remembrancers 
in the shape of white tufts of hair. The native 


182 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


method is not attended with such distinctive 
souvenirs. 

Some doctors confuse it with syphilis. I can 
assure them the two maladies are quite distinct, 
and call for different treatment. Maybe the idea 
was induced by the fact that syphilis was intro- 
duced into Europe by Pizarro’s men, who, it is 
said, caught it from the Indians of South America. 

It is just on the cards that I may bring home to 
England, one of these days, the carcass of a 
diseased llama. For I have been approached by 
the head of a certain tropical hospital, who thinks 
that if the disease could be exactly diagnosed 
medical science would greatly benefit. I am quite 
willing to go and procure a suitable animal, and 
fetch it over here in the form of Challona, but the 
cost would be a matter of £500. Perhaps some 
philanthropic individual will put up that sum in the 
interests of medical research. If so, the job could 
soon be carried through. 

A certain Englishman of my acquaintance 
married a girl belonging to a tribe of Mountain 
Indians, and tried to smuggle her out of the 
Indian territory. On the border line he was 
stopped, and ordered to take the girl back to her 
people. Knowing the penalties attached to dis- 
obedience, he lost no time in complying with the 
command. He was not permitted to return to 
the outer world for some time. During his 
detention he got too near a herd of llamas. 
One of them that was obviously suffering from 
Sana and savage with pain, spat on his head. 





TALES OF FAR PERU 183 


Before many days had passed foul-smelling 
ulcers made their appearance. He consulted 
several doctors, and they told him he had con- 
tracted syphilis. On mentioning the matter to 
his wife’s father, he said that if the culprit was 
really sorry he had broken their Indian law, he 
could soon be cured. The Englishman readily 
gave the required assurance, and was then taken 
in hand by the medicine man, who plastered his 
head with clay and other ingredients. Within 
a very short time he “ got shot” of his malady ; 
but to the day of his death little white tufts of 
hair denoted where the ulcers had been. He came 
to Jura for change of air while I was there, and in 
hopes of enjoying some guanaco hunting, brought 
his horse with him. During his stay there he 
pointed out to me a Peruvian miner who was 
suffering from Sana. Several ugly-looking ulcers 
were distinctly visible on his head. I asked 
Morosini to keep an eye on the fellow, and let me 
know if he derived any benefit from the waters. 
My friend told me subsequently, that three weeks’ 
treatment sufficed to render the Peruvian’s cuticle 
as clean as a baby’s. He made no mention of any 
white tufts of hair being left behind. 

Dyspeptics find relief at Jura. I know one 
lady who went there on the recommendation of an 
eminent Italian physician, and after undergoing 
the cure for three months, she could digest 
anything. 

To reach Cuzco, the ancient capital of the Incas, 
one should branch off at Juliaca and take another 


184. ADVENTURES IN PERU 


train. Here, at an altitude of 11,400 ft., the 
atmosphere is extremely dry and clear throughout 
the day, but intensely cold o’ nights. To avoid the 
risk of contracting fever and dysentery travellers 
would be well advised not to drink any water 
without first boiling it, or diluting with a little 
whisky. The best thing, by the way, to drink in 
the Andes is old Madeira. 

About 700 ft. above Cuzco is situated the 
fine old Inca fort of Sacsahuanan. The illus- 
trations facing page 196 give some idea of the 
strength of their buildings. Down below stretches 
the beautiful Huatenay valley. Here almost 
anything can be planted with the certainty of 
obtaining most bountiful returns. The soil 
acts like magic. Some of the loveliest cacti 
imaginable grow in wild luxuriance. It is said 
that Humboldt was first seized with a longing 
to travel when shown some specimens of these 
amazing plants. 

Machu Picchu presents many features of 
interest to the antiquarian. It was visited in 191] 
by an expedition sent from the United States of 
America, and headed by Professor Hyram Bing- 
ham of Yale. Much of the jungle that formerly 
cumbered the ground has been cleared away, 
hence the historic ruins are now comparatively 
easy to view. Machu Picchu is 8200 ft. up, and 
lies at the foot of a range of mountains bearing 
the same name, the river running 2000 ft. below. 
The climate here is simply grand. 

Sixteen miles from the coast, round about 








TALES OF FAR PERU 185 


Payta and Piura, the best pacers in all Peru are 
tobefound. The price of a decent specimen of this 
famous breed is from 2000 sols to 4000 sols. 
(about £200 to £400) ; but for a stallion one must 
be prepared to pay much more. 

_ The breed originated in the Spanish palfrey, 
introduced by Pizarro. It is said that up till then 
the Indians had never seen a horse, and were 
filled with amazement when one of Pizarro’s men, 
who had been wounded, fell from his charger. 
They thought man and beast were one—cen- 
taurs in fact. By the importation of the cele- 
brated Koklani strain—the bluest blood of Araby 
—and high-class thoroughbreds, the pacers have 
been much improved. 

In 1903 I brought from Chile a beautiful 
chestnut named Dougal. He was by Rodilard 
out of Clarabella, a St. Mirin mare. Don Julio 
Subercaseaux practically presented him to the 
Peruvians as a token of his friendship. JI have 
reason to know his generosity was greatly appre- 
ciated by all classes of Peruvian sportsmen. 
Certainly no horse could be better qualified to 
add stamina to the famous pacing breed. 

Catachaos, six miles from Piura, is a small 
town where Panama hats are made out of a very 
fine tough grass which grows in the vicinity. They 
are very nice, but not to be compared with those 
manufactured at Monte Christi in Ecuador and 
Cuenca. On the other hand, they are superior to 
the hats made in Colombia and Jamaica. The 
Catachaos hats range from 8s. each to £10. 


186 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


More expensive ones are manufactured, but are 
only made to order. 

A few days’ mule ride from Piura, in the Pro- 
vince of Jaen, are five very rich and fertile valleys, 
watered by the Huana, the Cabamba, and the 
Upper Maranon. In former times more than a 
million wild cattle grazed there ; but their numbers 
have been sadly depleted of recent years. I am 
glad to say, however, that the herds are now on 
the upward grade. As in Bolivia, all unbranded 
cattle are considered the property of the Govern- 
ment. When I was through this district in 1903- 
1907, one could buy these animals at £2 a head, 
-and land cost but 1000 to 1500 sols (about £50 to 
£75) per league. Visitors should take a good gun 
and rifle with them, for game is very plentiful. 
Deer, jaguars, pumas, and all manner of fur and 
feather abound. The best eating bird is, in my 
Opinion, the martinette. Although the climate of 
the hills and uplands is most agreeable, the 
valleys near the coast are no white man’s country, 
for they are unbearably hot. (Only a rough rule 
or two are necessary to enable one to distinguish 
between healthy and unhealthy country, almost 
at a glance. Where coffee, sugar, and tobacco 
grow is always salubrious. Fever lurks where the 
ground produces cocoa and rubber.) Very fine 
coffee is cultivated hereabouts, which compares 
well with the best Mocha. The addition of a 
little Costa Rica or Blue Mountain (Jamaica) puts 
the crowning touch on a beverage fit for a king. 
The High Flats are wonderfully invigorating. 





IN THE FOREST 





m » 


TALES OF FAR PERU 187 


It is possible to obtain two crops of tobacco 
every fourteen months, and one of alfalfa every 
five. The second crop of the latter is better than 
the first, and the third best of all. 

Rubber trees abound in the forests. They are 
at their best when from twenty-five to sixty years 
old. They begin producing at the eighth year, 
Hevea No. 1 yields from 10 lb. to 11 lb. per tree ; 
Hevea No. 2, from 5 lb. to 6 lb. 

Gold is to be found in many Peruvian rivers. 
One in particular I bear in mind. Some Indians 
showed me a lot of gold dust they had brought 
with them to sell at Tumbez and Truxillo. I 
gave them £200 for a quantity which I resold at 
Lima later on for £300. They were very decent 
fellows, and offered to wash for me on the share 
system ; I was to find them in implements, food, 
etc., plus ls. per day, and to reimburse myself 
the cost out of the gold found. This they were 
willing should be appraised at 6s. per oz. less than 
the price obtainable at Lima. Half of the 
residue was to be mine; they would be content 
with the other half. I should dearly like to take 
on this proposition with fifty or sixty men. It 
would, of course, require a bit of capital, for a 
crowd of that size cannot be fed and looked after 
for nothing. 

The Indian method of cultivating the soil is 
very primitive. For a plough they use the forked 
‘boughs of some hardwood tree, such as the pouie 
tree—as in Inca times. The only difference is, 
that whereas in the old days a team of Indians 


188 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


used to do the donkey work, now their place is 
taken by oxen. High Flats and the sides of 
mountains are ploughed in ridges like Saxon 
lynchets, big boulders and stones being so placed 
as to block up the ends. 

Because they loved the cold, invigorating 
atmosphere, the Incas built their castles high up 
on the hills. Round Cuzco granite and ironstone 
are very plentiful. The Incas were fond of 
making stone steps up to their houses, and many 
of these still remain. 

In Northern Peru there are immense deposits 
of salt. This commodity and tobacco are Govern- 
ment monopolies, so one can only buy them in 
licensed shops. 

In the Province of Jaen the Government used 
to pay 10 dollars (gold) for 69 kilos of tobacco, I 
was told. 

Sugar grown in the fertile valleys is made into 
rum and chancaca, i.e. native sugar. Chancaca 
can be bought for 4 cents a pound. 

Huanuco, about 200 miles north-west of Lima, 
is situate in a beautiful valley 6000 ft. up. The 
climate is lovely, neither too hot nor too cold. 
Nearly all the houses are surrounded by delightful 
gardens. Huanuco’s principal industry is sweet- 
meat making. The country round is devoted 
to mining and farming. The local cattle are 
rather small, and I think the breed would be 
much improved by the introduction of a few 
Hereford bulls. Land is cheap, the scenery 
magnificent, and there is a certain amount of 





TALES OF FAR PERU 189 


game. Bush-chicken, bush-turkey, and martinette 
are fairly common, and there are two sorts of 
deer. Jaguar may be met with in the woods, 
and pumas, foxes, and lynxes abound. High up 
in the mountains bears are pretty numerous. I 
got one once and had the hams cured.” They were 
not at all bad eating. I shot specimens of both 
species of deer. One of the brown, or larger sort, 
measured 3 ft. 10 in. attheshoulder. It hadanice 
head and a symmetrical pair of horns. They now 
hang in my hall, in company with a pair of slender 
prongs belonging to one of the other species of 
deer. This last-named delightful little animal isn’t 
much bigger than a buck hare, but the speed it 
develops on the run is amazing. It somewhat 
resembles the Pete buck, known as Agouti in 
Venezuela. 

Huanuco was founded by Gomez Alvarado in 
1539. Old Inca ruins are visible on every side. 
I spent a month here prospecting, and had a 
nice house and kitchen and corral for 10 sols, 
or £1 a week. Horses are plentiful, but they are 
not weight-carriers. For £20 to £30 one could 
buy an animal up to about 12 stone. Guanacos 
used to roam over the pampas here in herds of 
fifteen to twenty. 

From Huanuco I went on to Huaraz, the chief 
town of the Department of Ancacho, situate about 
75 leagues north and north-west of Lima, in a 
fertile valley on the banks of the Santa River. 
Here I fell in with a man named Julio Hernandez, 
who owned a good deal of land in the vicinity 


190 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


and a lot of cattle. Sugar and all tropical things 
grow here all the year round, for the soil is very 
rich. Hernandez had a fine coffee estate about 
three days’ journey from Huaraz. I went there 
to examine the banks of the river which runs 
through the property, and see if there were any 
gold there. Hernandez lent me six Indians. 
They removed the top soil, but found no alluvial. 
A little farther down, however, one day’s work 
in a small stream which runs into the Santa 
yielded 4 oz. of the precious metal. 3 

I put in a week at this spot, and then set on 
twenty Indians. Within three weeks we netted 
16 oz. more, a result Hernandez deemed alto- 
gether satisfactory. I would have liked to stay 
here longer, but was due back in Chile. Hernandez, 
besides giving me £20 for superintending the 
operations, promised me 10 per cent. of all the 
gold found during the ensuing six months. This 
promise he did not fail to redeem. Altogether I 
benefited £300 by this transaction. Hernandez 
was a real good fellow. He was reputed to be a 
lineal descendant of the Hernandez Soto who 
figured prominently in Pizarro’s time. My sug- 
gestion re improving the quality of his cattle so 
appealed to him that he afterwards imported a 
couple of fine Hereford bulls. 

From this point right up to Ayacucho and 
beyond, vicufias are very plentiful. Guanacos, 
after a lean time, are making headway. The 
vicufias are sheared like sheep. There is no 
wool in the world to equal theirs. It is finer and 





TALES OF FAR PERU 19] 


stronger and better and silkier than any other. 
Indians ask from £15 to £30 for ponchos made of 
this wool and enriched with designs picked out 
in silk. The king of rugs, the Carosse, is not now 
made in Peru, but may be met with occasionally 
in parts of Bolivia. Owing partly to the £2 tax 
imposed on each rug exported, they cost three 
times as much as they did before 1910. 

Hernandez was full of information respecting 
the Incas. He said that the town of Chota, near 
Caxamarca, was destroyed by the Chilians during 
the war of 1882, after they had ransacked the 
churches of their treasures of gold and silver and 
precious stones. | 

At Caxamarca visitors are shown the room 
which Atahualpa had to fill with gold and silver. 
There was to be a heap of golden ornaments and 
vessels, as high as the unfortunate Prince could 
_ reach, and as wide and long as his outstretched 
arms. The residue was to be silver. It is 
estimated that the room would hold treasure to 
the value of £100,000,000. Its dimensions are 
variously given as 22 ft. by 16 ft., and 27 ft. by 
22 ft. Once part of an Inca palace, it is now used 
as a school. 
Not far from Caxamarca are the remains of a 
most tremendous building erected by the ancient 
Peruvians. It would hold, I should say, 4000 to 
5000 persons, and was constructed of colossal 
stones. The vast ransom of Atahualpa represented 
not a tithe of the Inca hoards. There is no doubt 
that an immense amount of gold and silver 


192 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


(including the portion of redemption money that 
was being conveyed to Caxamarca when Atahualpa 
was condemned to die) was buried by the Indians 
directly they realized that the Spaniards had 
played them false. 

One has but to read the writings of Benzoni 
and Raleigh to get some inkling of the limits the 
Spaniards went to. Raleigh relates how he saw 
Indian chiefs chained to stakes in the merciless 
sun, and their bodies basted with burning bacon, 
in order to make them disclose some of the hiding 
places. Benzoni tells of Indians stripped and 
laid on the ground tied to a piece of wood, and 
then lambasted till their bodies bled profusely. 
Boiling oil or pitch was next thrown over them, 
and a mixture of pepper and salt well rubbed in. 
This doesn’t afford pleasant reading. Happily 
it is not the record of cultured Spaniards, but only 
what one might expect of a band of ruffians 
burning with gold lust, and led by men of doubtful 
origin. Such uncongenial soil rarely produces 


much in the way of consideration for other folks’’ 
feelings. I quote this by way of showing that, as - 


far back as 1540, the belief in Inca treasure hoards 
was firmly held. I cannot help thinking the 
Italian referred to in my book on Bolivia obtained. 
his gold ingots from one of these secret caches 
which he had discovered between Juliaca and 
Cuzco. 

The author of The Antiquities and Monuments 
of Peru, and Markham in his history refer to a 
hoard concealed in the ancient fortress of Cuzco, 


—% wir 
Fe IN I Saag at ae oe Be I, et ne) a ae 





TALES OF FAR PERU 193 


by the Incas. According to them, a certain 
Donna Maria Esquivel was not satisfied with 
the style in which her husband maintained his 
household. She deemed it quite unworthy of his 
rank, and bitterly reproached him with having 
deceived her. ‘‘ You call yourself Inca—a Lord— 
_ but you are only a poor Indian.” 

Don Esquivel bore with her as long as he could, 
but eventually decided to open her eyes. (The 
Esquivels, I may say, lived on the outskirts of 
Cuzco and kept sheep and alpacas.) So he 
blindfolded her, turned her round thrice, and 
conducted her a little distance from her apartment 
to a vault, it is thought, under the ancient fortress. 
Then he removed the bandages from her eyes. 

Donna Esquivel stared about her with amaze- 
ment, for she found herself in a veritable chamber 
of Aladdin. Immense quantities of gold and silver 
ingots and ornaments littered the floor; and 
ranged round the room were statues of all the 
Inca kings, fashioned of pure gold. They were 
about the size of a boy of twelve. It is worthy 
of note that Donna Esquivel saw no golden image 
_of the Sun—the treasure upon which the Incas 
set the greatest store. 


CHAPTER XV 


THE INCA SAGA 


BOUT 500 years before the coming of the 
Spaniards is the date generally assigned 
to the institution of the great Inca 
Empire. 

Manco Capac and his spouse, Mama Oello 
Huaco, then descended from the heights of the 
Andes and established themselves on the island 
of Titicaca. They claimed to be . heavenly 
messengers from the court of the Sun, the great 
God of the Indians. The word Jnca means Child 
of the Sun. The people received them with 
open arms, and they became all-powerful. Then 
little by little they extended their empire till it 
comprehended not only Peru but Quito also. 

This vast dominion they administered in a 
manner that compels admiration. Proper cultiva- 
tion of the land was insisted on, and, because the 
chief need was moisture, the rivers were diverted 
by means of aqueducts. Terraces were cut out 
of the mountain sides to carry these irrigating 
canals, and walls were constructed to keep the 
water from escaping. 

Eventually they built Cuzco, which was looked 


upon as the capital of the empire and regarded 
194 


THE INCA SAGA ? 195 


with special veneration. Here may yet be seen the 
remains of the great Temple of the Sun. 20,000 
men, it is said, were employed for fifty years on 
this magnificent structure. Manco Capac’s suc- 
cessors were deeply imbued with his wise ideas 
and under their fostering care the empire 
_ prospered exceedingly. 

In the middle of the fifteenth century Topa 
Yupanqui, llth Inca, grandfather of Atahualpa, 
led his armies across the desert of Atacama and 
extended the Inca Empire to the banks of the 
river Maule. His son, Huayna Capac, the best 
and most famous of the Inca chiefs, founded 
Quito. 

One lawful wife, his Coya, or Queen, was 
permitted to the reigning monarch, and the sceptre 
descended to the issue of this union, but his 
entourage also included many concubines. As 
the representative of the Sun, the Emperor was 
also considered the Head of the Priesthood. He 
wore robes woven of vicufia wool and richly 
ornamented with emeralds. The court etiquette 
was very strict, not even the proudest noble being 
permitted to enter the Imperial presence without 
first removing his sandals. He had, in addition, 
to shoulder a burden in token of homage. 

The Emperor used to travel sumptuously when 
he moved about from city to city, in a sedan chair 
ablaze with gold and emeralds. At convenient 
intervals he had rest houses erected along the 
principal roads. To this day they are known as 
tambos. They occurred most frequently on the 


196 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


royal highway that runs from Quito to Cuzco, 
and the remains of some may yet be seen. 

The Royal palaces were magnificently con- 
structed of stone, or porphyry, to withstand 
the convulsions of Nature to which this territory 
is subject. On the internal walls were carved 
all manner of figures, birds, beasts, flowers, and 
so forth, ornamented with precious stones. 

One is enabled to form some idea of the scope 
of these ancient buildings by viewing the remains 
of the old palace of Callo,in Colombia. They form 
a square, each side measuring thirty yards and 
more. Eight rooms, or divisions, are still trace- 
able, and four doorways, similar to those met with 
in Egypt. Perhaps they would be better described 
as gates. In each wall are several niches. 

The favourite residence of the Incas was, how- 
ever, situated at Yucay fifty miles distant from 
Cuzco, in a lovely valley, sheltered by the 
mountains and Sierras. 

Wise men were deputed to look after the 
welfare of the heir to the throne, and it was their 
duty to see he was instructed in the art of king- 
ship. His school companions were the sons of 
Inca nobles, each of whom was of the blood royal. 
A fringe of vicufia wool, bound round his fore- 
head, distinguished the Prince from his young 
companions. 

The Incas had an Order something akin to 
our ancient Order of Knighthood. When they 
had attained the age of sixteen years, the pupils 
of the military school were called upon to publicly 





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THE INCA SAGA 197 


_ prove their proficiency in wrestling, boxing, and 
running, to fast for days on end, and finally to 
take part in a series of sham fights that extended 
over thirty days. At the conclusion, those candi- 
dates deemed worthy were presented to the 
Kmperor, who pierced their ears with a golden 
bodkin. One of the highest nobles in the land 
then anointed the candidate’s feet, bound on the 
distinctive footwear of the Order, and placed the 
sash in position round the loins. 

When an Inca died, his entrails were deposited 
in the temple of Tampo, twenty-five miles from 
Cuzco. The body was embalmed and placed in 
the Temple of the Sun. Often gold and silver 
and costly jewels were buried in the tomb; and 
sometimes the royal concubines sacrificed their 
lives, to show their sense of loss. 

The Inca territory was divided into three 
_ portions, one for the Sun, one for the reigning 
monarch, and one for the people. 

Every man was required to marry at a certain 
age. He was then given so much land. Annually 
this grant was revised according as his family 
had increased or diminished. For each child 
an additional portion was granted, a boy being 
entitled to twice as much as a girl, All the 
common people had to work on the land. First 
they had to cultivate what belonged to the Sun ; 
next that of the sick, the widows’ and orphans’ 
portions and those belonging to soldiers engaged 
on service. When these tasks had been accom- 
plished, they were at liberty to attend to their 


198 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


own land, and, so that they should not idle over 
that, they had last of all to put the Inca’s land 
into proper fettle. The flocks of Lamas were 
allocated in the same way. Only the males were 
killed, and grievous penalties attached to the 
killing of any female llama. 

Every year the llamas were sheared; the 
clip was stored in public buildings, and distributed 
to each family according to their need. The 
womenfolk were instructed in the art of spinning 
and weaving. To-day the self-same methods are 
in vogue with the Indians of Peru and Bolivia. 

All the mines were considered to belong to 
the reigning monarch, and were worked for his 
benefit, by skilled miners, who laboured in shifts. 
Out of the revenue accruing from this source 
the Inca furnished relief to the sick and poor all 
over his dominions. 

Inventories were taken at frequent intervals 
in each district, of the various natural products, 
likewise a register of births and deaths. Copies 
were periodically forwarded to Cuzco. 

Gambling and rash speculation were dis- 
couraged. Theft, adultery, and murder were 
punished by death, and rebellions were drastically 
repressed. | 

Under the enlightened rule of the Incas the 
people of Peru prospered exceedingly, and were 
content for a period of 500 years. Then the great 
Huayna Capac died. He was succeeded by his 
eldest son Huascar. Five years elapsed, and 
then Atahualpa, Huascar’s youngest brother, 





THE INCA SAGA 199 


quarrelled with him and tried to wrest the king- 
dom from his hands. His initial enterprise 
proved a failure. His adherents were defeated, 
and he, himself, cast into prison at Tomebamba. 
Escaping thence he gathered round him a con- 
siderable body of men, and gave battle to his 
brother about sixty miles from the mighty 
Chimborazo mountain. Victory on this occasion 
rested with his arms, and again subsequently at 
Cuzco, where the final, decisive battle of the Civil 
War took place. 

Atahualpa’s treatment of his brother and 
his followers was characterized by great cruelty. 
He ruthlessly slew the common people, and encom- 
passed the death of the nobles who favoured 
Huascar’s cause by a despicable subterfuge. 

It was just at this time that the eyes of Spain 
were attracted to the Southern Seas, in con- 
sequence of the exploits of Cortes, Balbao, and 
others. A Settlement had been established at 
Panama, whence several expeditions put out 
from time to time, hoping to discover the great 
Peruvian empire of which rumour spoke so highly 
—a land where the natives drank out of golden 
vessels and constructed their baths and household 
utensils of silver. After three or four abortive 
attempts Pizarro, a Spanish adventurer of obscure 
birth, landed near Tumbes in 1532, and made the 
most of the opportunity the fratricidal struggle be- 
tween Atahualpa and Huascar presented him with. 

He sought the first named at Caxamarca, and 
gave him to understand that he appeared as the 


200 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


ambassador of Charles V. of Spain, who as the 
Over-lord would be only too glad to see the quarrel 
properly adjusted. 

Pizarro’s chaplain, Valverde, who subsequently 
became first bishop of Cuzco, took a prominent 
part in what followed. He called upon Atahualpa 
to acknowledge himself as Charles’s liegeman, and 
to embrace the Roman faith, the tenets of which 
he outlined. 

The Inca heard him with  ill-concealed 
impatience, and then addressed him as follows: 
“I will be no man’s tributary. I am willing to 
hold your Emperor as a brother, but the Pope of 
whom you speak must be crazy to talk of parting 
up lands that don’t belong to him. As for your 
faith, you tell me your God was put to death by 
the very men he created ; but mine,’ he concluded, 
pointing to the Sun, “ still lives and looks down 
from Heaven upon his children.” 

When Valverde heard these words he told 
Pizarro what was required was deeds not words. 
Thereupon the latter gave a signal to his artillery 
as previously agreed and set about making a 
prisoner of Atahualpa. The latter’s men fought 
hard and well for their lord and master, but their 
bows and arrows were no match for the Spaniards’ 
fire-arms. So, though they largely outnumbered 
the invaders, they soon had to own themselves 
beaten. 

Atahualpa was kept prisoner in his own house. 
Although allowed the company of his wives and 
occasional intercourse with his nobles, he soon 





THE INCA SAGA 201 


pined for liberty, and in hopes of securing it by 
playing on the greed of his captors, made the 
famous offer to which reference has already been 
made. 

Pizarro led him to think that his proposal 
was acceptable; so Atahualpa gave orders that 
his subjects were to set about collecting the ransom 
forthwith. 

Within a few weeks many massive pieces of 
gold plate and silver were brought in to Caxamarca. 
Some weighed as much as 50 lbs. to 75 Ibs. 
Messengers sent to Pachacamaca to hurry up 
the Indians resident in that district, returned 
with 200 loads of gold, besides much silver. 

Some idea of the rich store of treasure poured 
out at Pizarro’s feet may be gained from the fact 
that before Atahualpa’s men had half completed 
their task, Pizarro allocated to his own use 
_ 57,222 pesos in gold and 2350 marks silver, and 
in addition the great golden throne of the Inca, 
valued at 25,000 pesos. His brother, Hernando, 
got 31,500 pesos gold, and 2300 marks silver. 
De Soto’s share was 17,700 pesos, and 724 marks ; 
while D’Almagro received 20,000 pesos gold, 
and his men 15,000 between them. 

Pizarro was now for setting his prisoner at 
liberty, but the majority of the Spaniards were 
against that, and insisted on his being brought to 
trial. As is usual in such circumstances, the 
voice of the majority prevailed. The trial duly 
took place and Atahualpa was found guilty. 
The sequel I will narrate later on. 


202 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


After Atahualpa had paid the death penalty 
the Indians broke out and plundered the temples 
and palaces of all their treasures. These they 
buried in caves in the fastnesses of forest and 
mountain, so that they should not fall into the 
hands of the Spaniards. 

It is generally believed throughout Peru and 
Bolivia that some of the Indians know where the 
great bulk of this treasure lies hid; but the man 
who may induce them to reveal the secret has 
not yet appeared upon the scene. 

Now and then some one is so lucky as to 
stumble across a small hoard, but what has been 
brought to light up to now represents only an 


infinitesimal portion of the wealth that was put 


in the safe keeping of Mother Nature. 

The last of the Incas was Manco, second son 
of Huayna Capac. Shortly before his death, 
Atahualpa had caused Huascar to be drowned 
in the river Andamarea. Manco accordingly came 
next in the succession, and one fine day surprised 
Pizarro by calling upon him. He informed the 
Spaniard what his pretensions were and claimed 
his protection. 

It suited Pizarro’s plans to listen favourably 
to the young chief; and so it came to pass that 
in the year 1534, he caused him to be acclaimed 


Inca, and placed on his head the scarlet fringe 


held sacred to the Emperors of Peru. This 
exclusive mark of royalty was made from the 
feathers of an extremely rare bird that lives in the 
mountains of the desert. Some naturalists profess 


ne 


\ 


THE INCA SAGA 203 


to identify this bird with the Peacock Trogen of 
Colombia, but that in my opinion is a moot point. 

Father Valverde officiated at the coronation, 
and said Mass. Pizarro’s act made a good 
impression on the Indians, who were really greatly 
attached to the House of Capac, and hailed with 
delight the restoration of the monarchy. The 
Spaniards, however, kept a pretty strict eye on 
Manco and didn’t give him much rope. He, 
after awhile, made friends with Pizarro’s brother 
Hernando, and showed him some of the Inca 
treasure-haunts. When they had become very 
well acquainted Manco told his friend that the 
famous statue of his father, Huayna Capac, 
fashioned in solid gold, lay hid in a part of the 
Andes accessible only to one who knew the secret 
paths. 

Hernando rose to the bait and permitted Manco 
to go in search of the image, accompanied by 
some of his nobles. A couple of soldiers were 
‘detailed to act as kind of policemen. A week 
passed, and then Hernando realized that he had 
been duped. So he sent his brother Juan with 
a force of cavalry to bring the Inca back. 

Twenty leagues from Cuzco, in the valley of 
 Yungay, Juan met with the soldiers who had 
accompanied Manco. They told him the whole 
country had risen in revolt against the Spanish 
rule, and that he would never be able to secure 
Manco again, except at the point of the sword. Juan 
held on his way, however, till he reached the river 
Yucay, six leagues from Cuzco. There he found 


204 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


his passing barred by Manco, who had assembled 
a vast army of men armed with native weapons. 
In no wise daunted by this display of force, the 
Spaniards attempted to cross to the other side, 
but after losing a number of men and horses 
were obliged to return to Cuzco. 

Manco and his forces followed them hot-foot, 
and finally shut them up in the city. Juan 
Pizarro and his two brothers, Hernando and 
Gonzales, put up a resolute defence for five 
months, and then were delighted to see many of 
the Inca’s followers were being sent home to 
attend to the land. Juan now made the bold 
resolve to sally out and try and capture Manco, who 
had his headquarters at Tambo. Under cover 
of the darkness he led his men to the attack, but 
found, much to his disappointment, the Inca 
occupied an impregnable position. The only side 
that seemed to offer the least chance of success 
was that next the river. Upon Juan directing 
his energies to that point, the natives opened the 
sluices and diverted the waters of the stream so 
that the Spaniards were soon in imminent danger 
of being drowned like rats in a pail. In the 
circumstances, there was only one thing left for 
Juan to do, viz. to get back to Cuzco as soon as 
he could, and thank his lucky stars matters were 
no worse. Shortly after, D’Almagro appeared 
upon the scene with reinforcements of seasoned 
Spanish troops, so Manco raised the siege, and, 
with his wives and followers, betook himself to 
the remotest fastnesses of the Andes, 


THE INCA SAGA 205 


For some long time the Spaniards were too 
occupied in quarrelling among themselves to 
trouble what had become of the Incas, and when 
at last they attempted to pick up his trail, found 
that it led to parts of the country only accessible 
by secret paths that were a dead letter to them. 

Nothing definite was ever known of what 
became of the Incas subsequently. According to 
Indian tradition they held high court for many 
years in a great city, hidden away among the 
mountains. Here and there, one very occasion- 
ally meets with old trappers who assert that in 
their wanderings they have chanced upon this 
secret stronghold; but I am afraid one must 
treat these narratives as fairy tales, although 
I am fain to admit that for many years people 
refused to believe in the existence of the Aztecs. 
And yet 1 know men who claim to have had 
dealings with that mysterious race quite recently. 
As a matter of fact, I was invited to go and 
classify their cattle and supply new blood for 
their stock. 

In the face of that, who shall say the Children 
of the Sun are extinct? Some day the riddle 
may be solved. Until then, one is entitled to 
keep an open mind. For my part I have hopes 
of finding the answer in Ecuador. 

I have often been asked what became of 
Atahualpa’s judges. This is best ascertained by 
referring to that fascinating work, Prescott’s 
Conquest of Peru. A brief résumé of the closing 
scenes of these tumultuous lives may encourage 


206 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


some of my readers to delve into this fine classic, 
and they will be amply repaid for their trouble. 

When Pizarro’s brother Fernando returned 
from Spain, after conveying thence the treasure 
collected for the Crown, he brought with him 
marks of the King’s high appreciation of all 
D’Almagro and Pizarro had accomplished. The 
latter was created a marquess, and the former 
was empowered to explore and occupy all the 
country for 200 leagues south of Pizarro’s terri- 
tory. 3 

When D’Almagro returned from his Chilian 
expedition he claimed that Cuzco was included 
in his jurisdiction. Pizarro refused to admit the 
equity of his demand, and backed up his opinion 
with a show of force. D’Almagro, nothing loth, 
tried conclusions with Hernando Pizarro, who 
then occupied Cuzco. Having taken Hernando 
prisoner, he next turned his attention to Alvarado, 
who had also refused to acknowledge him as 


Governor of Cuzco. Success again attended his 


arms. 

Francisco Pizarro now took a hand, for 
D’ Almagro extended his claims to include Lima. 
After protracted negotiations both parties agreed 
to retire to their own territories until the 
lands in dispute were accurately determined. 
D’Almagro’s men, however, made no effort to 
observe the terms of the treaty, so Pizarro 
advanced with a large force of men, and after a 
sanguinary encounter at La Salinas just outside 


Cuzco, defeated D’Almagro’s forces and took the ~ 


\ 


THE INCA SAGA 207 


luckless Marshal prisoner. Twelve days later the 
_ latter was garrotted by Pizarro’s orders. 

Hernando Pizarro was commanded to return 
to Spain and explain the circumstances attending 
D'Almagro’ s death. Before he set out on his 
journey he warned his brother to beware of the 
Men of Chile—meaning D’Almagro’s followers— 
but Francisco laughed his fears to scorn. The 
Court sent out Vaca de Castro to inquire into 
Peruvian affairs generally, so D’Almagro’s men 
hoped to get some redress. De Castro, however, 
suffered shipwreck on the way out, hence they 
determined to take matters into their own hands 
and remove the tyrant. Accordingly, twenty 
of them arranged to meet at the house of 
D’Almagro’s son towards the end of June, 1641, 
to arrange their plan of action. 

One, fainter-hearted than the rest, revealed 
the plot to his confessor. The priest lost no time 
in acquainting Ricardo, Pizarro’s secretary, with 
the news. When the latter told his master, he 
laughed and said it was only a ruse by which the 
cleric hoped to secure a mitre. He, nevertheless, 
decided not to go to Mass on the appointed day. 
The arrangement had been to kill him on his way 
back. When the conspirators learnt that Pizarro 
had not attended Mass, they concluded some one 
had split on them. So they determined to carry 
out their programme without delay. Headed by 
Rada, one of D’Almagro’s officers, they rushed 
across the square to the Governor’s palace. The 
heavy iron gate of the outer court was open. 


208 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


Midway over the second court they met with the 
two keepers of the gate. One they struck down. 
The other ran back into the palace and gave the 
alarm. 

Pizarro, who was in the dining-room with 
several friends, ordered Francisco Chaves, one of 


his officers, to secure the door. Chaves unfortu- — 


nately attempted to parley with the assassins 
through the half-opened door. A sword-thrust 
was his reward. 

Hastily brushing the attendants aside, Rada 
and his companions made their way to the room 
where Pizarro was, shouting, “‘ Death to the 
Tyrant.” The Marquess’s half-brother Alcontura 
barred their entrance with two pages and three 
of his friends. They were soon desperately 
engaged, seeing which Pizarro rushed to their 
assistance. Just as he reached the doorway, 
Alcontura fell to the ground grievously wounded. 
Nothing daunted the Marquess wielded his blade 
vigorously and made his foes give ground. The 
respite was, however, all too brief; they rallied 
and advanced to the attack again. Rada, holding 
the dead body of one of his companions in front 
of him, made a violent thrust at Pizarro which 
found its mark. It pierced the latter’s throat 
even as he ran Rada through. Pizarro sank to 
the floor. Several swords were plunged into his 
body. ‘‘ Jesu,” exclaimed the dying man. With 
his finger he traced the emblem of Christianity on 
the floor. As he bent his head to salute the Cross 
with his lips a shrewd stroke hastened his end, 


THE INCA SAGA 209 


After passing through various vicissitudes his 
Temains were finally deposited in the cathedral 
at Lima, where they may yet be seen. 

Pizarro was seventy years of age when he 
made his hurried exit from this vale of tears. 
He left behind him a son, who died young, and 
a daughter—the result of his union with 
_ Atahualpa’s daughter. The girl eventually 
became the wife of Hernando Pizarro, at the time 
@ prisoner in the fortress of Medina. Hernando 
survived his twenty years’ “stretch”? all right and 
lived till he had topped the century. Strong 
evidence this of the invigorating climate of Peru. 
In the reign of Philip IV. one of his descendants, 
Don Juan Hernando Pizarro, was created a 
Marquess and granted a liberal pension by the 
Government of the day as a mark of gratitude 
for the distinguished services rendered by his 
ancestors. Members of the family still reside at 


Truxillo. 


CHAPTER XVI 
SNAKES AND OTHER HORRORS 


HE rivers of Peru are well stocked 
with fish, of which some afford very 
good eating. But some are neither 
good for man nor beast. In the 

latter category must be placed the piranha, a 
blood-thirsty little beast ranging from five to 
twelve inches. Let there be but the very slightest 
suspicion of blood on any person or animal, 
and they will swarm to the attack like fero- 
cious sharks. Colonel Roosevelt’s great friend, 
Colonel Rouden, lost one of his toes while 
paddling in a stream infested with piranha ; 
and I have often seen Indians who were minus 
a finger tip. The canderos is even a greater 
menace to bathers. This veritable fiend measures 
but one and a half to three inches long, and 
is a shark in miniature. Its fins are similar, and 
so are its teeth. The former fold down at will on 
the back; then the canderos looks like a worm. 
Their favourite point of attack is the fundament. 
Directly they force an entrance they spread their 
fins and begin to burrow, and so to get rid of 
them then a serious operation is required. ‘The 


ballanetta, a cross between a buffoon and a sea 
210 


\ 


SNAKES AND OTHER HORRORS 211 


porpoise, more properly belongs to Venezuela. 
He is a big fellow, from fourteen to eighteen 
feet in length. The name is Spanish for “a young 
whale.” It abounds near La Pastora up the 
Orinoco River. Colonel Mirandas, whom I met in 
_ 1923, had an ingenious theory of how it originated. 
_ His idea is that some porpoises brought up from 
the sea by a phenomenal tide, “ nicked in” with 
manatees and the product of that union interbred 
with other sea porpoises and so on, till finally the 
buffoon type became fixed. 

The sting ray is another objectionable fish. It 
occurs more frequently in sea-water than in fresh, 
and has a whip tail about three feet long and 
a kind of prong which it sticks into its victim 
preparatory to dragging it beneath the surface. 
Tn form it resembles a skate. The river species is 
from two to four feet broad, with a three to four 
inch prong. That found in the Caribbean Sea is 
much bigger in every particular. 

The manatee, or cow fish, is one of the most 
remarkable objects to be seen anywhere in the 
world. It is from eight to ten feet long and weighs 
from two hundred to four hundred pounds. In 
many respects it bears a startling likeness to the 
_ human form divine, and its mode of conception and 
breeding are similar. When feeding her young— 
there is never more than one at a birth—the 
mother fish raises her head and breasts above the 
water. The baby manatee may then be seen, 
resting on flappers which protrude from beneath 
her mother’s breasts. There seems little doubt 


212 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


that the manatee induced the mermaid fiction. 
This fish is good to eat, and its skin is much valued 
by the Indians for whip thongs and shoemaking. 

Poisonous insects are fairly common. The 
sting of the scorpion is rarely fatal, although it is 
generally attended by ill effects. More dreaded 
is the bite of the tarantula, a spider the size of a 
small saucer. I bathed every morning for three 
weeks in a lovely pool near Anhuaqui, made by 
the Indians with a tree they had felled. Regu- 
larly, day after day, a whopping big tarantula put 
in its appearance on the log. I tried ever so many 
times to capture it with a large butterfly net, but 
it was always too smart for me. I wanted him 
badly to put among my specimens, and offered 
the Indians all sorts of inducement to secure him 
for me, but they wouldn’t face him. 

Snakes seem to exercise a strange fascination 
for most people. Some of the reptiles I met with 
in Bolivia and Peru, without being very dissimilar 
from those of neighbouring countries, were yet 
sufficiently distinct in their characteristics to 
merit at least a passing word. One thing should 
be borne in mind, and that is that snakes in 
tropical countries rarely obtrude themselves on 
one’s notice. In certain circumstances, this of 
course constitutes a real danger. For instance, 
you may be forcing your way through thick jungle 
and step on one unawares ; or, when passing up @ 
river, roofed over with gorgeous, tropical vegeta- 


tion, you may brush against one enjoying a siesta — 


‘on an old decayed limb. Then you have to look 


ney = : 
ee ee Ne et ee Py A 





SNAKES AND OTHER HORRORS 213 


out for squalls, for Mr. Snake doesn’t waste time 
in idle talk. No, he gets busy, busy in a way that 
means no good to the party who has interfered 
with him. 

Even so, the majority give warning of their 
evil intentions, by making certain audible sounds. 

The cobra is exactly similar in appearance to 
the Asiatic reptile bearing the same name, but it 
has a thicker skin. In length it ranges from 
three to four feet. When in action it stands on 
its tail, and its advance is particularly menacing, 
for it has the power of jumping backwards, a 
stunt it is prone to indulge in just when you least 
expect it. Cobra skin is a material much in favour 
with artisticleather workers. Ladies’ slippers and 

shoes and hand-bags are made of this material, 
and really look very nice. 

At the present time rattlesnake skin is even 
more the vogue. The rattler is found where the 
soil is dry; chiefly round sugar estates and in the 
Pampas grass lands. He invariably gives notice 
of his intentions by sounding his rattle. This 
consists of from two to five round pieces of bone, 
about the size of split peas, encased in a horny 
substance at the tail-end of the reptile. The 
Peruvian Government pay | sol per head for 
every rattler killed. Some of the Indians earn 
their living in this way. For evidence they have 
to produce the tail of each snake they claim to 
have killed. 

One of the most dangerous to be met with in 
this region is the green mamba,. Personally Ihave 


214. ADVENTURES IN PERU 


never come across one in Peru, but it is pretty 
general in all tropical countries. I once disturbed 
a green mamba in Pondoland, when coming up 
from the sea after a bathe. I was tramping along 
a path that was only very faintly defined. Hear- 
ing a hiss, I turned just in time to see Mr. G. M. 
preparing to make himself obnoxious. He was, 
in fact, coming after me full rip, and full of pep. 
I wasn’t dressed to receive visitors, so the situation 
was rather embarrassing; but, happily, I remem- 
bered Sir John Jarvis Bissett’s instructions, viz., to 

run uphill. Directly I did so I had the snake beat. 
} The garter snake is also very deadly. It is 
often called the coral snake, and is only about 
twelve to eighteen inches long. Wonderful tales 
are told by the Indians of its jumping powers. 
According to them, this sinister little reptile can 
project its thin whip-like body through the air a 
distance of ten feet. 

I once killed a garter snake when out riding 
near a tropical forest. It lay asleep in my path. 
Quietly dismounting, I cut a long bamboo, and 
from a distance of about eight feet gave him such 
a whack as quite flattened him out. Then I 
wrapped him round with wild banana leaves 
secured with my handkerchief, while I visited a 
native hut close by to try and get a bottle. I 
succeeded in my quest, and soon transferred the © 
snake to the glass receptacle, and I have him yet, 
preserved in spirits of wine. 

The python, variously called boa constrictor, 
land boa, anaconda, and so forth, attains a 








SNAKES AND OTHER HORRORS 215 


tremendous size in these latitudes. The natives 
talk of some being as much as sixty feet long, but 
I can hardly credit that. The longest python I 
have ever seen I happened upon in Natal. It was 
in the act of squeezing the life out of General 
Bissett’s favourite pointer that had wandered off 
into the forest. Two or three of us rushed to the 
assistance of the dog, and fired, altogether, eighteen 
shots at the snake before we could induce it to 
loose its hold of the affrighted animal. General 
Bissett had the skin dressed and mounted. In 
its green state it measured 22 ft. 2 in. 

Strange to say, the pointer suffered no discom- 
fort beyond a badly swollen nose, which yielded 
to treatment, so that in a couple of weeks or so he 
was as frisky as ever. All the same he didn’t 
display any pressing anxiety to visit that part of 
the forest again. 

Pythons, when they crush their prey, try to 
throw a coil or two round the trunk of a tree, so 
as to get a purchase. It is then they are most 
dangerous. A tiny native girl of five years had 
a narrow escape one day. When her father 
appeared upon the scene, a python had seized 
her by her dress and was dragging her towards 
a tree stump. The monster had, in fact, com- 
menced to wind its tail round the tree, before the 
child’s father realized fully what was occurring. 
By great good fortune the latter had his axe with 
him, and a few lusty strokes sufficed to make the 
great snake release its captive. 

I have a specimen land boa skin in my hall, 


216 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


cured native fashion, which measures 19 ft. 6 in. 
Originally it was 21 ft. 6 in. long. 

A few months ago a man told me of one he nhid 
he had got in Venezuela that went at least 40 ft. 
He offered to let me have it for 10s. I said, 
“ Right you are. Here’s your money, directly 
you bring the skin. Moreover, if it measures 
30 it. Pll give you 20s., and 10s. extra if it exceeds 
30 ft. by more than an inch or two.” The native 
swore blind that the skin was a good 40-footer, and 
tried to ‘‘touch” me for a few sols on the strength 
of it, but I wasn’t “having any” just then. As 
he never turned up with the skin, I am forced to 
conclude that he told me a fairy tale. 

The water boa is a bit larger than the land 
species. I heard of one captured in a tributary 
of the Orinoco, that measured exactly 30 ft. 
1 in. It was taken at a place 400 miles from 
the delta, and was sent to General Gomez. TI 
promised its captor £1 for a similar skin, plus Is. 
for each foot it went over 20 ft. That was in 
1917, and I am still waiting to hear from the man. 

In Paraguay, the water boa'is called My Boy 
Yegua. I used to sell the land boa for 10s. per 
foot in London for making boots, but now the 
Indian, or Peruvian python, has supplanted it in 
public favour. 

During my travels in the interior of Peru I met 
with a snake no one could name. It was of the 
mamba type, but ashy grey in colour. I managed 
to secure it, and it now graces my collection of 
bottled energy. 





SNAKES AND OTHER HORRORS 217 


An even greater rarity, however, was a snake 
I encountered near Panama in Colombia, when 
seeking the wonderful Passion Flower orchid. 
It measured ten feet long, and was covered with 
large oval, orange-coloured spots, bordered with 

red on a dark leaden ground. In between the 
orange spots were smaller white markings. The 
Indians considered this the most poisonous of all 
the snake family. When they skinned my speci- 
men they were careful to cut its head off first, and 
whilst carrying out that operation they weighed 
it down with a great stone. I took it home to 
Kington the next time I returned to England. On 
my way thither an eminent French naturalist 
offered me £10 for the skin. He said the snake 
was very, very rare. Certainly I have never seen 
another like it. 

For snake bites, leaving out of consideration 
Ambrose’s stone, I don’t know a much. better 
remedy than corrosive sublimate and ammonia 
mixed. This is how it should be applied: tie 
a ligature above the bite, not too tightly, then 
prick the place with a needle until you draw blood. 
Now pour some of the mixture on the puncture, 
taking care that it penetrates well. A famous 
Indian hunter gave me this recipe, and said it is a 
sure cure. 

One snake incident that occurred to me when 
I was on construction work I shall never_ forget. 
It so fell out that I stayed three nights and two 
days with a friend named Reid, whose section 
of line adjoined mine. Reid slept on a bed and 


218 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


I on the floor. At daybreak I woke, and glanced 
over at my friend to see if he was awake. To my 
horror I saw a great green mamba had twined 
itself round the head rail of his bed . 

The situation was a terrifying one. For if Reid 
so much as moved, the snake would strike, and 
that instantly. What could I do? KEvery 
moment was precious. As my eyes roved hither 
and thither seeking some suitable weapon of 
offence, they lighted on an axe that lay on the 
floor a little distance from my bed. 

Very, very quietly I crawled towards it, and 
when my fingers closed over the haft, I felt I 
don’t know how. The revulsion of feeling almost 
upset my self-control. I speedily recovered my 
balance, however, and, wasting no time in pre- 
liminaries, fetched the mamba such a mighty 
blow that I severed both it and the stout iron bar, 
as easily as if I had been dealing with pie-crust. 
Half the snake’s body fell on the floor, and half on 
the bed. Reid woke up with a start, and was not 
a little shaken when he realized how nearly he had 
‘* passed in his checks.” He was properly grate- 
ful to me, and said I had saved his life. I don’t 
think he was far out there. - 

Up the Orinoco there grows a creeper the 


Indians swear by, as a remedy for snake- bites, 
second to none. It also seems to render reptiles — 
quite innocuous, apparently paralysing their fangs. — 


Supposing a person has been stung, the Indians 
well prick his skin above the elbows and then 


freely apply some of the pounded leaves and 





SNAKES AND OTHER HORRORS 219 


branches of the creeper as a poultice. They 
repeat this operation several times, meanwhile 
administering the juice of the bruised plant, 
diluted with water, as a drink. After undergoing 
this treatment, it is said, a person becomes im- 
mune, and can handle any kind of poisonous snake 
or serpent without running the least risk of evil 
effects. 


CHAPTER XVII 
GOLD, SILVER, EMERALDS, AND PEARLS 


OR several years I was engaged redis- 
covering old mines for M. M. Penny and 
others. It was a simple matter to find 
out whether any mine was worth open- 

ing again. If there were no dumps outside, and 
the tunnels were well ventilated, then the mine 
invariably proved a rich one. I have come across 
many such both in Peru and Bolivia. On the 
other hand, a lot of small excavations and a 
number of dumps visible, was a bad sign. 

I shall never forget rediscovering the Carmen 
mine mentioned in Adventures in Bolivia. This 
was shown me by an old Indian of ninety. He 
also told me it was untrue that the Indians were 
cannibals. It was only after a fight, and to show 
how they despised their enemies, that they would 
cast junks of flesh, limbs, etc., of the fallen, on the 
fire. They certainly chew pieces, but always spit 
them out afterwards. He was the father of five 
or six of Penny’s miners. One of them helped my 
old muleteer, Simon Cruz. He was engaged for 
me by my old cook, Manuel Maldonado, who died 
of fever. I stayed with the Indians two months, 


prospecting and taking samples from Mount Sapo. 
220 





GOLD AND SILVER 221 


The river which runs below the Carmen mine is 
called Corimayo, or Crown of Gold. 

From this place the way to Sacambaja leads 
over the Calatranka range. It is imperative to 
keep one’s head covered in this atmosphere, even 
_ when sitting about after dark; the changes of 
temperature are so sudden. In many of the 
villages situated in the high terraces of the Andes, 
only altitude saves the Indians from sudden death, 
their habits are so insanitary. There will ever 
remain in my memory the scent of one street in 
Oruro ! 

Chinchillas, the little animals that provide the 
beautiful and expensive furs so much admired by 
ladies, are found in the Cordilleras, between 
12,000 ft. and 16,000 ft. up. The very finest 
Chinchilla Reals come from the high mountains 
of Peru. They are of a beautiful smoke blue 
tinge, and are worth £500 a dozen. Next in value 
come the Chinchilla Reals of Bolivia. £240 a 
dozen is their worth. The first-class Moscatas 
- fetch £180, and the second-class Moscatas £90. 


~The Chinchilliun, a very pretty little fur, obtained 


by crossing a Chinchilla with a rat, is valued at 
£20 a dozen. Pelts of the Chinchilla rat are also 
worth money. These are the prices ruling in 
London to-day (1923). The Indians use the 
Furot, a small animal not unlike a ferret, in their 
trapping expeditions. They value a good Furot 
at as much as £30. I had to pay £1 for a skin. 
To get to the Oroya mine one has to travel 
from Lima by the Central Railway of Peru, the 


222 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


highest point on this line being 15,565 ft. above 
sea-level. On the way up you pass San Mateo 
(10,584 ft.). Oroya is perched at an altitude of 
12,175 ft. Just beyond lies the great Cerro 
Pasco mine, owned by J. D. Haggen, McEwan, 
and Gentry. These gentlemen spent two million 
dollars before they got any return. Only one man 
of the original claim holders, Gallo by name, had 
done any development work, and he had employed 
about fifty men. To him Haggen and Co. paid out 
£56,000. The other holders, who had idled away 
their time waiting for something to turn up, got 
nothing. The last time I saw Gallo was at 
Lima, looking very unhappy in a top hat and 
frock-coat. After his loose mining gear I dare say 
his fashionable “‘clobber”’ made him feel very un- 
comfortable. That, however, didn’t prevent him 
from admiring a fine pair of Clevelands he had 
recently acquired. 

A two-days’ ride on horseback brings one to the 
fertile valley of Chalapata, where much sugar is 
grown for conversion into rum and chancaca. 
The Paroma district occurs three days’ ride further 
on. Several different sorts or species of potatoes 
are grown here, and the Indians breed many sheep, 
cattle, horses, and mules. The mulesare very fine, 
and frequently fetch £70 apiece. Horses are 
obtainable at from £8 to £20, and are not up to 
much as may be imagined. 

In the forests round about are to be foukd, 
little bears having tails almost equalling the length 
of their bodies. The Indians make pets of them, 





GOLD AND SILVER 223 


and a friend of mine had one that would drink out 
of a bottle, and peel bananas like a monkey. 
Several sorts of monkeys make these forests their 
home. The Indians say they are good eating, 
especially the one known as the Red Howler. Of 
the others, there is a very pretty monkey, much 

after the style of the Samonga of Zululand. Its — 
fur is long and silky, and bluish grey in colour. 
The Indians have no use for monkeys, other than 
as provender, but are always ready to barter 
their pelts for axes, knives, and other implements. 

I got quite a nice parcel of gold here. Part 
I bought of the natives, and part was washed out 
by my own Indians. The hills all around are rich 
in silver and copper as well as gold. One can 
continue on this route right down to Iquites, 
passing through league after league of rubber 
trees. Cinchona and most of the valuable trees 
indigenous to the tropics, may also be met with. 
This part is very sparsely populated ; but an influx 
of population may be expected when the railway 
in extended from Aroya. Land which has been 
very cheap will then appreciate in value. 

At Caxamarca, in 1921, I met two Italians who 
had an experience that should act as a sufiicient 
warning to other treasure hunters. Two years 
previous to the Great War, as they were working 
on the tunnel of an old mine that had been lost 
to sight for many years, they came across a big 
slab; this, when lifted up, disclosed an iron box 
which contained an old document. After de- 
scribing a Conventille not far from where the 


224. ADVENTURES IN PERU 


Italians were working, it continued, “If you dig 
at the place indicated, you will find, about five 
feet down, the stone roof of a big cellar. Raise 
the slabs in the left-hand corner ; you will then see 
a stone stairway. At the bottom there is rich 
treasure of gold and silver and precious stones.” 
The Italians followed the instructions to the 
letter, and had reached the stairway, when one of 
the ten Indians they had engaged to assist them, 
raised the alarm. A squadron of cavalry could be 
seen topping the horizon! MHastily covering up 
their excavations, the treasure seekers prepared to 
make themselves scarce ; but were intercepted by 
the Prefect of the district, who demanded to see 
the authority under which they pursued their 
inquiries. Of course none was forthcoming; so 


they were ordered to clear off. Being in a mortal 


funk, they obeyed the Prefect’s imperious com- 
mand, with as little delay as possible. Six months 
later, when they thought the affair had blown over, 
they sneaked back again, intending to make a 
fresh start. Hard lines! They found the Prefect 
had been busy in the interim, and had unearthed 
a vast amount of treasure! This would have 
benefited the Italians, had they but given the 
usual notice to the Government. 

In 1921 the Italians revisited the spot, intend- 
ing to comply with all the rules and regulations. 
Alas ! they found the Prefect had done his work so 
effectually that there was nothing left for them. 


I met them both coming and going, and they told 


me they had to be content with the £3000 they 


i 
fe’ 
ag 

g 

a 

4 
‘ 

a 

»! 
ia 

f 
% 

te 





GOLD AND SILVER 225 


got for the old mine they had discovered. Even 
so, they came out better than I did over the old 
Cheeta mine which I rediscovered in the San Juan 
province of the Argentine. I was reported and 
denounced for not complying with the mining 
laws of the Argentine. Instead of having my full 
complement of men I had only a caretaker. The 
man who denounced me put on forty men. Six 
months later he sold the mine for £7000 cash, 
his dump and 4 per cent. of the profits resulting 
from the four years next ensuing, while I got 
nothing! What our friends across the Channel 
would call a nice little smack in the eye. 

On the Oroya line is a place called Chusica. 
For hundreds of years it has been in favour as 
a resort for persons suffering from pulmonary 
complaints. It is claimed that the beautiful 
atmosphere will cure consumption if not too far 
advanced. Bronchial subjects also find it very 
beneficial. Besides other game, a few deer can 
be got here. Conspicuous amongst the many 
lovely flowers that run riot are the various species 
of Giant Cacti, whose magnificent blooms, as 
kaleidoscopic as a rainbow, present an unfor- 
gettable tableau. 

From Chusica the line mounts higher and 
higher, until Monte Meggs is reached at an altitude 
of 15,666 ft. John Meggs, after whom the place 
is named, constructed the line, which includes the 
Galera tunnel, one of the most remarkable tunnels 
in the world, and the highest. It is considerably 
over 17,000 ft. above the level of the sea. On the 

3 Q 


226 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


way up, the train winds round and round, so that 
the engine may be seen rounding one bend whilst 
the tail end is negotiating another. When I 
travelled by it, the conductor, an old Scotsman, 
always allowed me to change into my winter clothes 
in his compartment. After passing Monte Meggs, 
the line begins to fall away, until it pulls up at 
Oreya (12,178 ft.), 136 miles from Lima. 

I used to know Willie Meggs, Meggs’ eldest son, 
very well, for I had to do with some of his race- 
horses in Buenos Ayres. Willie and his father 
once had a few words about money matters. The 
old man said he could be either junior partner of 
the firm, or take £10,000 and clear out. Willie 
chose the alternative, and bought some race- 
horses. Amongst others he secured Arundel, 
whose English form was pretty good, for 2600 
guineas off G. Haughton. Altogether he laid out — 
a lot of money. But there was one thing he 
omitted to do: he didn’t renew his stock from time 
to time, hence it deteriorated, and after awhile 
became quite groggy, and he with it. One day 
his charming wife said to him, “ Will, you owe a 
lot of money. What have you in your pockets ? ” 
‘‘Twenty-five dollars,’ he replied. “ Let me 
have twenty, and I'll see what I can do with 
them.” ‘ Right-o,” said Will. Mrs. Meggs pur- 
chased two lottery tickets with the money, one 
for Meggs and one for herself. That was on the 
Tuesday. Next day but one, just as they were 
sitting down to dinner, along came a wire informing 
Meggs that his ticket had won the premier prize 





- 


GOLD AND SILVER 227 


of £5000! Will received the good news very 
coolly ; almost as if the winning of a great prize 
were of but little importance to him. I tried to 
persuade him to place £4000 in the London and 
River Plate Bank, on deposit, pay his debts out 
of the remaining £1000, and with what was 
left over, purchase a couple of infirm, good-class 
race-horses. I offered to train them for him, so 
that we might both make a bit. I’m sorry to 
say, however, that Will wouldn’t listen to me, but 
put the whole £5000 to current account; and 
when I last had news of him he was as hard up as 
ever. 

Ayacucho, one of the most ancient cities of 
Peru, is noted for its jewellers and fine silver- 
smiths. These craftsmen hold closely to the 
traditions handed down by their forefathers, and 
turn out work that is worthy of comparison with 
that of Inca days. Altogether there are about 
seventy of these art workers located in or around 
Ayacucho. I have compared specimens of their 
handiwork with ancient filigree ornaments un- 
earthed at Pachacamaca and Tia Huanaca, and 
can distinguish very little falling off in design or 
execution. Lord Brassey, when he visited Peru 
on his yacht, the Sunbeam, in company with 
Lady Brassey, sent an emissary to purchase 
jewellery here. I’m told he laid out £5000. 

Ayacucho also used to be noted for its white 
alpaca, and vicufia carosses, or rugs. <A _ great 
many ruins, Inca and Huanca, and twenty-four 


churches, testify to its importance in days gone by. 


228 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


There are two ways of getting to this fascinating 
place. My favourite route is by way of Pisco, Ica, 
and Huancavilla, muling it all the way, in the 
finest atmosphere in the world and through some of 
the sublimest scenery. The easiest way to Ayacu- 
cho is to rail it from Lima to Huancayo (10,000 
ft.). That takes two days more or less. The 
remainder of the journey occupies three or four 
days on mule-back. 

Among the many rich gold mines in Peru, 
Amanca (17,000 ft.) is notable as being the 
highest in the world, worked by the hydraulic 
method. Men working and prospecting in the 
neighbourhood, showed me lots of quartz with 
traces of gold in it. I sent samples to M. M. 
Penny, but just then he was all for tin, so there 
was nothing doing. The conduits and sluices 
here were constructed of stone when the Spaniards 
governed the country. At that time much gold 
was washed out and sent to Spain by the Viceroy, 
who had 6000 men employed, washing and digging 
out gravel. Further on, the Poto River runs | 
through soil that is very auriferous. 7 

In dealing with Indians one has to be careful, 
for some of them are not above mixing particles 
of brass with the gold dust. Round about Lim- 
bani Indian labour is plentiful and cheap. The 
men will show one all the likely places, and work 
for 4s. per day, out of which 2s. is deducted by the 
employer for the food consumed (mostly Irish stew) 
and for other incidental expenses. 

To get to Amanca one has to leave the train 





GOLD AND SILVER 229 


at Crucero Alto (14,666 ft.), on the Arequipa- 
Puno line; and travel thence on mule-back over 
the High Plateau. Here sheep and llama are very 
plentiful. A manI knew, of the name of Creighton, 
once visited this place, staying with the son of a 
wealthy man, who had been sent there out of the 
way by his father, to avoid the consequences of 
having accidentally killed a man in a brawl. 
One can also reach this place from ‘Tirapata 
(12,731 ft.), using mules as the media. 

The Indians secure gold by laying a floor of 
loose stone edgeways. This they flood, and then 
wash out the gravelly deposit left by the water. 
I prefer my own method of dealing with the 
gravel. I used to pan it out in a basin with a 
little quicksilver. Whatever sticks to that is pure 
gold. 

When I was on my way home to visit my 
people, and see Mariano Penny at his residence 
in Aberdeenshire, a Scot gave me some rich 
samples, which he had taken from the Amanca 
mine. I tried to induce Penny to let me put in a 
season with Creighton at Amanca, but found him 
more enamoured of tin than ever. About this 
time it had appreciated in value a good deal, 
hence, I suppose, he thought it more profitable 
to send me to locate mines in Bolivia. 

At Poto, according to Creighton, the thermo- 
meter often registers 104 degrees in the sun and 
37 in the shade. I can quite believe that. As a 
matter of fact, at the foot of the Cerro Volcan and 
Cerro San Pedro in the Great Atacama desert, 


230 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


the markings, for ten consecutive days, ranged 
from 80 to 83 degrees in the sun, and from 
30 to 40 in the shade. I used to attach a 
string to a toe of my Indian servant, so that I 
might rouse him at 7 a.m., and I generally found 
the temperature then well below zero. One of the 
inspectors of the Antofagasta and Bolivia line 
said I was lucky, as six weeks before I arrived 
upon the scene, the temperature at 7 a.m. was 
16 degrees below zero, and so continued at that 
hour for fifteen days on end. I was jolly glad 
to have avoided that experience. 

Near the Pass of Aricoma several sources of the 
mighty Amazon rise. The mountains here run 
up to close on 25,000 ft. Tirapata is the rail- 
head of the line. The manager of the Inca Gold 
Mining Company resides in the hacienda below. 

About three days distant by mule is the small 
town of Assilo, whose chief attraction is a wonder- 
ful old church built by Padre Valverde, first Bishop 
of Peru. It was this gentleman who christened 
Atahualpa. The Inca Chief, so the tale runs, was 
led out of his prison at Caxamarca on August 29 
1533, chained hand and foot, and attended by 
Valverde. The latter persuaded him to adopt the 
religion of his conquerors and so escape the burn- 
ing at the stake, for which the more merciful 
method of the garotte would be substituted. 
Atahualpa was baptized Juan de Atahualpa, 
Juan being in honour of John the Baptist, on 
whose day the ceremony took place. 

It is said Pizarro was greatly affected, and tried 





GOLD AND SILVER 231 


to have the venue of the trial altered to Spain. 
The most important charges levied against 
Atahualpa were, that he had murdered his 
brother Huascar, and had incited the Indians to 
resist the Spaniards. Pizarro and D’ Almagro, who 
sat in judgment on him, sentenced him to death. 
Valverde, amongst others, signed the death war- 
rant, and declared Atahualpa deserved his fate. 

Taking into consideration the upbringing of 
Atahualpa’s judges, and the enormous ransom 
imposed, one is at liberty to doubt whether 
Pizarro’s emotion was feigned or not. The sen- 
tence was duly executed and announced by 
trumpeters in the grand square. Atahualpa’s 
remains were interred in the cemetery of San 
Francisco, but after the Spanish yoke was thrown 
off they were removed to Quito, in accordance 
with his last wishes. I visited the jail chapel at 
Caxamarca, and was shown the altar, which now 
occupies the site of the stone upon which the . 
unfortunate Inca was strangled. 

It is generally believed that the reason why the 
Spaniards broke faith with Atahualpa was, they 
felt sure they would never conquer the country 
while he lived. The news of his foul murder was 
conveyed throughout the length and breadth of 
the land, by means of whistles and other Indian 
methods of signalling. When it reached the ears 
of the natives, who were on the way to fulfil their 
obligations, they hid much of the treasure which 
they had collected, and the remainder they threw 
into one or other of the sacred lakes—Titicaca, 


232 ADVENTURES IN PERU | 


Orces near Cuzco, or the little one near the top of 
Sorata. 

Lake Aricoma occurs between two ranges of 
the Andes, and is remarkable as being one of the 
highest lakes in the world. The sight of this vast 
body of water at so tremendous an altitude fills 
one with awe. 

The terrible atrocities perpetrated at Putu- 
mayo have not yet died out of people’s memories. 
I have never regretted participating in bringing 
them to the notice of the world at large. I had 
first-hand information from Daniel Wheeler, who 
was employed by Barber and Co. of Cochabamba. 
He threw up a £60 a month job and returned 
to Cochabamba, because he couldn’t stand the 
devilish, cruel methods of the overseers. I had 
opened out to Barber, when I was dining with 
him, and had told him the money he was making 
was all blood money. He wouldn’t believe what 
I told him, but said, if it proved to be correct, he 
would chuck the business altogether. He had, 
some time previously, announced his intention of 
retiring directly rubber fell to 5s. per Ib. | 

During the period covered by these outrages, 
viz., from 1905 to 1907, a man named O’ Donnell 
killed an Indian, so that he might abduct his wife. 
The woman would, however, have nothing to do 
with him. On the contrary, she reported the 
murderer to the Peruvian Government. O’Don- 
nell took fright, and ran away to Barbados. The 
Peruvian Government asked for his extradition 
after the woman had been sent out to identify 








HONVC ‘IVEIAL V 
UOT NOILVUVdHAd NI GHLNIVd ONIAA AHAIY OAVNONLNd FHL FO STYID NVIGNI 





GOLD AND SILVER 233 


him. This the British Government granted, and 
O’Donnell was tried for his life. He escaped the 
consequences of his dastardly deed, however, 
through the wiles of his advocate, a man named 
Reece. This worthy contended that the docu- 
ments were not in order, and therefore the Chief 
Justice had no jurisdiction, pointing out that no 

~ signature was attached to them, but only a rubric. 
His Honour asked the meaning of the term, but 
no one seemed able to tell him; so O’Donnell 
was set at liberty. The same day he took steamer 
to Brazil leaving his wife, who was the daughter 
of a prominent official, behind him. O’Donnell, 
I may say, owned the Hotel Amazon. Next day 
Dr. Messiah, a retired Government medico, asked 
me if I knew what a rubric was. I explained 
that although it was quite true no document in 
Peru and Bolivia is valid unless it is signed by a 
court official, yet, in the case of a high official, 
all that was required was his initials round the 
coat of arms, accompanied by a certain flourish. 
Now the O’ Donnell particulars were thus inscribed, 
and were, therefore, perfectly in order. Some 
weeks after, an escort of Peruvian soldiers arrived 
to take O’Donnell back to Lima. Through the 
silly misunderstanding over the rubric, they had 
their journey for nothing. When the full facts 
came to the knowledge of the authorities, an order 
was issued for O’Donnell’s arrest in any part of 
the world where a British Consul held office. 
Upon this O’Donnell cleared out of Brazil, and 
fled to Venezuela. 


234 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


| During his detention at Barbados, at least 

three other prominent overseers sought sanctuary 
elsewhere, expecting, doubtless, that their turn 
would come next. 

This matter of the Putumayo atrocities was 
very thoroughly taken up by the British and 
Peruvian Governments. Ultimately the company 
went into liquidation and was broken up. 

Besides the notable mines already mentioned, 
particular reference to the celebrated San Domingo 
mine is overdue. It may be approached from 
Tirapata or Juliaca; in either case a three days’ 
journey is involved. The manager of the Inca 
Gold Mining Company, who now own the property, 


makes Tirapata his headquarters. As I have said 


before, San Domingo was rediscovered by Major 
Gibson of the English Guards. This was about 
1900. Gibson was on long leave at San Francisco, 
where he made friends with a Jesuit Father. 
From him he learnt much about San Domingo— 
how it had been worked by the Incas, and after 
them by the Jesuits. To crown all, the Reverend. 
Father had in his possession a document, in which 
were set down all the particulars necessary to 
locate the mine. This he offered Gibson, stipulat- 
ing that the latter in return for it, should give him 
and his Order 10 per cent. of the proceeds. 

Major Gibson lost no time in getting back to 
Peru, and following the instructions implicitly, 
soon came upon the mine. It was all overgrown 
with vegetation, but in almost as sound condition, 
internally, as when abandoned by the J esuits. 





ae ae ee 


GOLD AND SILVER 235 


Old John Simpson, who in 1905 went with me to 
examine the Sapo mountain, accompanied Gibson, 
and reported on the samples he took. The latter 
denounced his find in the Mining Department of 
Peru, together with 200 hectares, as a rediscovered 
oldmine. He then returned to England, where he 
hoped to induce his friends to put up the necessary 
funds, so that he might open out the old workings 
and develop them. Within a couple of years he 
had scraped together £5000, and returned to 
San Domingo, intending to commence operations 
without further delay. Unfortunately, he hadn’t 
kept his good fortune to himself, but had let his 
tongue wag in Arequipa and other places. Hence, 
when he reached the mine, he found it a busy hive 
of workers. On applying to Mr. Chester Brown, 
who was pointed out to him as the manager, the 
latter explained that he had been reported for not 
complying with the mining laws ; as a consequence 
the mine had passed out of his control. 

The man who had denounced Gibson’s lapse 
was directed by the authorities to advertise in 
any paper he liked, calling upon Gibson to appear 
at the Ministry of Mines Department, and show 
cause why he had not complied with the rules and 
regulations. The Peruvian took good care to 
advertise in an obscure little rag, called the 
Arequipina, which had a very limited circulation. 
It is true, that a copy of this paper was exhibited 
in the Public Court House; but none of Gibson’s 
friends saw it, and it was also overlooked by the 
British Consul, whom Gibson had asked to act as 


236 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


his agent. Fifteen days passed, and then as 
Gibson had made no sign, the mine became the 
property of the Peruvian. This gentleman at 
once put on the number of men deemed necessary 
by the authorities, i.e. sixty. Six months later 
he sold his rights to the San Domingo Company 
for £72,000 ! 

As an Englishman, one cannot but sympathize 
with Major Gibson; at the same time, one must 
admit that the law he failed to observe is a just 
law, and wisely framed in the interests of the 
country. It prevents anyone from exploiting 
the land, and ensures that it shall not stand idle. 
Poor Gibson was terribly put out, over the downfall 
of his hopes. He started off on a shooting trip 
in the forests near San Domingo River, to take his 
mind off his woes. Unhappily, he contracted a 
fever and only returned home to die. I had 
these > particulars from John Simpson, who, 
when reporting on my Sapo mine, said it was 
much richer than San Domingo. In 1921 I was 
told that San Domingo was re-sold a few years 
later for £400,000 to a big company, the Inca 
Gold Mining Company, as a matter of fact. 

Just about the time I was at Lima, i.e. between 
1900 and 1907, there was a gentleman nosing 
around whom I will call ‘‘Q.’’, the son of a 
British General, and on an allowance of £400 a 
year. He did some prospecting, and worked for 
himself and others. One day he went too far. 
He came down to Lima, saying he had found a 
fabulously rich gold mine only three days from 





PIU ee a ee 


eel 





GOLD AND SILVER 237 


Arequipa, and showing some very fine samples. 
He persuaded a wealthy Peruvian to go back with 
him to the mine, and pointed out the lode whence 
he had taken the quartz. He said, ‘‘ You can 
drill wherever you like in the lode.” The Lima 
man did so and found visible gold in large quan- 
_ tities. The Peruvian was so enamoured that he 
gave “Q.” a cheque for £10,000. “Q.” re- 
turned to Lima and cashed it. I was nearly the 
last man he saw. He declined my invitation to 
dinner, and offered as his excuse that he was 
dining with Captain Moffat on the 7'u Capel. 

Next evening, as I was shutting up my boxes 
and seeing everything was all right, the Peruvian 
called, accompanied by a police inspector, and 
asked if I had seen “Q.” lately. I said, “‘ Yes, 
yesterday about 6 o’clock. He left here to go 
to Callao on the Zu Capel.” The inspector 
said, “Do you remember that mine he spoke 
about ? He persuaded a Peruvian to give him 
£10,000 for it.’’ I replied, ‘“‘ He must have been a 
mug to part with so large a sum without calling 
in expert advice.” Well, the upshot was the 
Peruvian found “Q.’’ had salted the mine, i.e. 
fixed up samples for greenhorns to find. 

I heard later that ‘* Q.”’ left the steamer at 
Iquique. Next time I went to Peru with my 
annual lot of racehorses I was told “Q.’s” 
father had written the Peruvian, promising to 
pay him the sum out of which he had been 
swindled, on one condition, viz., that he did his 
best to find “ Q.” and get him arrested wherever 


238 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


he might be. “ Q.” lay low for some years in 
Iquique, which most folks know is in Chile. That 
country and Peru were then not on the best of 
terms, so ‘Q.’’ was safe for the time being. 
What became of ‘“Q.” subsequently I don’t 
know. But did you ever hear of a bigger fool ? 
Just for the sake of ‘‘ twisting’? the Peruvian, he 
risked and lost his allowance of £400 a year, for- 
feited what would have come to him under his 
father’s will and £25 a month besides, which a 
well-known company paid him for looking after 
their interests ! 

Before closing my narrative of the many fabu- 
lously rich mines of Peru and the tremendous 
fortunes made out of them, I ought to just mention 
one Dr. Neal of Iquique told me about. I refer to 
the great silver mine of San Pedro and San Paul. 
It was worked by the Incas, and after them by the 
Jesuits until they were turned out of Peru. Then 
it stood derelict for a number of years, and, as was 
only natural, got covered over with sand. The 
great earthquake of 1868 completed the bottling 


up process. One day an American named Chase 


got hold of a document that purported to give the 
exact locality of the long-lost mine. He was 
much impressed with what was set down, so went 
and started work at the spot indicated. He 
grubbed away for fourteen years, removing debris 
until he had exhausted all his capital. Then he 
appealed to his brother. But that good Christian 
man wasn’t ‘having any” as the saying goes, 
and made it quite clear that he was going to have 





GOLD AND SILVER 239 


no truck with any poor relations. Chase next 
approached a storekeeper named Harris, and here 
touched lucky, so was able to resume work again. 

Another two years of hard graft passed, and 
then one day, as he was preparing dinner for himself 
and his two men up at his shack, one came rushing 
- in to announce that the entrance had been at last 
uncovered. Chase left the dinner to cook itself, 
and followed the messenger hot-foot to the mine. 
There he feasted his eyes on a great accumulation 
of silver ingots which had been piled up by the 
Jesuits ready for removal in days of long ago. 
~ Out of this hoard he banked £700,000 within the 
next six months! 

Soon after he was lawsuited by McKinna—a 
man associated with the late Colonel North in 
several ventures—the owner of the adjacent silver 
mine. McKinna claimed that what Chase had 
unearthed was on his (McKinna’s) property. 
The fight was a bitter one, but Chase won in the 
end, and returned to England where he bought two 
houses in the Cromwell Road, London, and turned 
them into one. 

His lawyer advised him to make his will. 
Said he, “‘ If you don’t, that beautiful brother of 
yours can step in at your death and collar the lot.” 
Chase was impressed and did as his legal adviser 
suggested ; moreover, to further provide against 
contingencies, he married Colonel Harris’s 
daughter. 

One day whilst staying at the Hotel Cecil, his 
brother, who had meantime gone broke, was 


240 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


announced, and Chase treated him to a dose of his 
own medicine. His wife bore him two daughters 
and then died. Chase did not long survive her. 
He left four millions. 

Of all the copper mines of Peru, Cerro Pasco 


is the most famous. I have already referred to it © 


in connection with a man named Gallo. In my 
opinion it doesn’t come up to the one I visited a 
few years ago at Chuquicamaca in the Atacama 
desert. Cerro Chuqui is 9,700 feet up. Some 
leagues away in the same province are other moun- 
tains in which Cerro San Pedro and Cerro Volcan 
are situated. Chuquicamaca is more like a small 
town than a village, what with a church, the 
manager’s fine house and many tenements for 
workmen. An American mining engineer told 
me the mills at Cerro Chuqui crush 17,000 tons of 
ore every twenty-four hours. I thought the tale 


a bit tall, for 7,000 tons would be pretty good — 


work. However, there it is, as he told me. 

The mountains in the vicinity of this great 
mine yielded me some very rich samples of silver 
and copper. It seems rather extraordinary to 
find mountains full of precious metals in the midst 
of a tremendous desert. But so it is. 

One curious feature of this wilderness is the 
vast quantities of lumps of fossilized wood one 


meets with on all sides. Apparently they are 


relics of prehistoric times, and were once a kind of 
shrub. A great trade is done in these chunks at 
Antofagasta where they are used as fuel. 

Some of the finest emeralds in the world are 


~~ a a“ 
ep hee pee Ce oe 


EMERALDS AND PEARLS 241 


found in Peru. A few years ago a Peruvian en- 
gaged in constructing limekilns not many days’ 
ride from the Jura baths, struck a vein rich in 
emeralds. JI read the full particulars of his find 
in a paper published only a few weeks after I had 
left the district. Strange to say, I had been all 
round there guanaco hunting. The Peruvian 
obtained £40,000 for his concession. I know of 
several localities where I believe emeralds are to 
be found. Those found in Peru are light green in 
colour—the rarest of all emeralds. They are 
second only to those found at Bogota in Colombia. 

On several occasions I met members of the 
Holquin family and Mr. Ecchevaria. They were 
all interested in this exquisite stone. I travelled 
with Ecchevaria several times. The last time was 
on the Tagus. He then told me he had lost his 
emerald lode, and although he had had forty men 
working round for two years trying to pick it up 
again, success had not attended their efforts. 
If I would superintend the operations, he said he 
would be quite willing to pay me a good com- 
mission to find it, plus all the exes. attached to 
twenty Indian workmen. I could not, however, 
accept this attractive offer because I was working 
for Penny and Minchin at the time, and I had 
to convey eight horses and four mares safely to 
Peru. 

It may not be generally known, but extremely 
fine pearls are found off the coast of Peru. 

A Lima friend of mine once fixed up with the 


owner-captain of a three-masted schooner, and 
‘ R 





\) 


employing divers. The venture proved aie ner 





successful. Lots of pearls were found. — 
the first little parcels forwarded to my friend 
the captain, was valued at from £700 to si Y 


posed of for £400. 


—_ 


CHAPTER XVIII 
COCK-FIGHTING 


NE of Peru’s oldest and most popular 
sports is cock-fighting. All classes 
participate in this diversion. An 
ancient writer speaks of having been 

present at a main when he noted no less than 
eighteen ecclesiastics with fighting cocks under 
their arms! 

On a certain occasion my friend Robert 
Leguia asked his brother A. B. to give me £50 to 
buy him a cock and two hens of the best fighting 
breed. I refused to take more than £30, thinking 
that sum quite sufficient. Subsequently I came 
across a book written by “The Mate” (Sir John 
Astley) in which the writer said he had once sent 
his son, who was stationed in India at the time, 
£50 to buy some birds for him. The youngster 
replied he could only obtain one bird and a few 
eggs for that sum. This made me feel a bit 
dubious as to how I should succeed. I managed, 
however, to buy a magnificent cock and two hens 
in London for £20. I had three special cases made 
for them, and shipped them by the Pacific Co. as far 


as Peru, giving the ship’s butcher £1 to look after 
3 243 


244 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


them and keep them clean, and promising him 
another £1 if the birds arrived in good con- 
dition. | 

On the way out, the hens were good enough 
to lay eggs nearly every day. I used to have 
them for breakfast, until a lady who was frequently 
seasick, asked me to pass them on to her, a 
request I readily complied with. It is no use 
“setting” eggs that have been laid aboard ship, 
for they are not fertile. 

At Valparaiso we were held up two weeks while 
I waited for a coast boat to take a consignment of 
racehorses to Peru. H. Crangle, who came aboard 
to meet me, was a great cock-fighter, while lI, 
myself, had an occasional flutter, and one of my 
birds, trained by myself, was champion at Bel- 
grano. Crangle thought best not to take the birds 
ashore, but to leave them on the Jberia until the 
Santiago arrived. 

During the wait I experienced a stroke of bad 
luck. The butcher of the Iberia took some 
friends aboard one day, and wishing to show them 
a bit of sport, set my two hens ateach other. They 
had a real good go in, and one got killed. The 
matter was reported to Sharp, the general manager, 
and also to the captain. Both were very much 
upset, for the Leguia family is one of the most 
popular in the whole of 8. America. The captain 
put the butcher in chokey for two weeks, fined him 
£5, and permitted him to have only one drink a day. 
The punishment was none too severe, as the bird 
could not be replaced; but I refused to take the 


COCK-FIGHTING 245 


fiver, and asked the captain to place it in the 
Widows and Orphans box. 

From the surviving cock and hen, Robert 
Leguia bred some magnificent birds, which won 
all the principal prizes at Lima and elsewhere. 
He was bid £4 apiece for the male chicks. Capital 
results were also obtained by crossing the cock 
with a good fighting hen from Panama. 

Once when going home on the Pacific Royal 
Mail, I went ashore with a Colombian doctor at 
Panama and accompanied him to the French burial 
ground just outside the village. The caretaker 
was a noted breeder of fighting cocks. He sold 
the doctor a very good bird but not so big by 
half as the one I took out from England. My 
bird was never allowed to fight, as he weighed 
9 lb. and the native cocks didn’t go much more 
than 5 lb. 

When fighting, the birds are equipped with 
steel spurs about one and a half inches long and 
shaped like a sickle. Leguia’s birds were trained 
to circle round and stab once; that sufficed. As 
a general rule the prizes ranged from £25 to £200. 
At the Champion Meeting of the year—The 
Game-cock Carnival—held at Ica on Independence 
Day, the premier prize was never less than 2,000 
sols. Sometimes it amounted to 4,000. There 
were, besides, minor awards of £35, £40, and £50. 

Mains take place in Lima every alternate 
Thursday, from 2 to 5 o’clock. I have frequently 
seen several good Fathers present at these gather- 
ings. Most of the clergy take lively interest in 


246 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


the sports of the people—racing, cock-fighting, 
bull-fighting or what not. 

Peru’s supreme advantage is that she has at 
the head of affairs, one of the most progressive 
statesmen in the world, His Excellency A. B. 
Leguia. Backed up by singularly able colleagues, 
he has done great things for his country. Among 
the notable works accomplished, may be men- 
tioned the settling by arbitration of the dispute 
with Chile over Tacna and Arica; the re-organizing 


of Peru’s customs and finances, so that she is . 


now in a better position than she has ever been 
before; the establishment of a more powerful 
army and navy ; and the institution of an aviation 
department. In connection with the last-named, 
an air force has been created and developed that 
ranks higher in efficiency than any other in §., 
America. There is a naval section and also a 
military one. 


Captain John Leguia, A. B.’s eldest son, is the — 


Director of this most important arm of the 
national establishment. He and James Douglas 
once flew to Cerro Azul from Lima and back 
again in four and a half hours. The distance 
covered was about 180 miles. Bailey, the late 
manager of the Cable Co., writing to the author 
about this feat said, “Just fancy, John Leguia 
and another chap flew to the head of the Cafiete 
valley and back in four hours! The journey 
used to take you three or four days on horseback.”’ 
J. L. and J. D. also flew from Lima to Truxillo. 
Another machine was flown from Lima to Cerro 


COCK-FIGHTING 247 


Pasco. The pilot, although flying at an altitude 
of 18,000 feet, carried no oxygen but simply 
depended on his furs. 

When aviation was in its infancy, so to speak, 
a Peruvian named Tenaux crossed the Andes in a 
flying machine. He was about the first to do so. 
Many airmen have told me that the High Flats 
and the coast of Peru are particularly well 
suited for aviation purposes; the atmosphere is 

ideal, and the wind so equable. 

Before President Pardo’s time, ships from 
all over the world used to come and load up with 
guano, paying the veriest trifle for it. But when 
Leguia took office as Pardo’s Minister of Hacienda, 
he put a stop to the practice. Ever since, Peru 
has retained this excellent product for her own use. 

The Incas were well versed in agricultural 
chemistry, and made great use of guano, the bird 
manure found on the Chincha and San Lorenzo 
isles. They secured the preservation of the birds 
that supplied this valuable fertilizer, by prohibiting 
anyone from setting foot on these islands during 
the breeding season. 

The police is an exceptionally well organized 
force. In the larger towns at night, policemen, 
armed with rifles, are stationed every 200 yards. 
Where the shops are situated, the distance between 
the men is reduced to 100 yards. Each man blows 
a whistle every ten minutes. Two blasts warn 
his next-door comrade on either side that the 
help of both is needed. Three bring up all the 
force available at a run. When the police call 


248 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


upon one to stop it is advisable to comply with 
their demand, for they never hesitate to use their 
rifles, and they shoot to kill. Periodically during 
the night, inspectors ride round and see that the 
men are at their posts. Curfew is at 9.30. People 
out after that hour, especially strangers, are often 
called upon to produce their passports. 

I was made aware of this, on my first visit to 
Peru, in the following manner. I had with me 
twenty-one racehorses, two carriage horses, and an 
arab hack. 'There were eleven stablemen, some 
of their wives accompanying them. When we 
arrived at Callao and the animals had been done 
up for the night, I stood treat. I told the men to 
go and enjoy themselves, at my expense, down at 
the saloons, where they might hear music very well 
rendered by competent artists. 

Next morning, when I arrived at the stables 
intending to exercise my horses, not a lad was 
visible. A policeman was there, however, and 
when I commented on the absence of my boys, he 


said, ‘“‘ That’s just what I have come to see you 


about. They are allin jail; they could produce 
no passports when challenged after curfew.” I at 
once called upon the Chief of Police. That worthy 
gentleman told me my people had rendered 
themselves liable to be fined £1 each, or sent to 
prison, for breaking this excellent law. I assured 
him they had sinned in ignorance, and that I my- 
self was unaware of the regulation. As I had told 
the boys to go, I of course offered to pay their 
fines, and was agreeably surprised when the 


Tea Soong, ae ee ee ey ee 


COCK-FIGHTING 249 


Chief said, ‘‘ No, we won’t impose any fine this 
time; but in future, give your boys a scrip to 
say they are out with your permission.” 

In Peru there is scope for millions of new 
comers, but no room for wasters. Pick and 
shovel men would be well advised to give it a 
wide berth, for they would only be remunerated 
on the same scale as the Indians, who are content 
to work for very small wages. The same thing 
applies to domestics. The poorer inhabitants of 
Peru make excellent servants; there are besides 
a large number of West Indians available. 

The sort of folk Peru needs, are engineers 
(especially those skilled in the use of the electric 
drill), machinists, and capable mechanics, who are 
not content to loaf around in pubs, but willing 
to undertake jobs, and stick to them. To all 
such, Peru affords excellent opportunities and good 
pay. 
To return to A. B. Leguia. Were he not so 
clever and able a ruler, he might easily have 
made a very large fortune by training and riding 
racehorses. He has a natural gift for that sort 
of thing. Few gentleman riders could hold a 
candle to him, and not many professionals could 
give him poundage. He was one of the finest 
light weights I have ever seen. A. B. owns and 
breeds some of the best racehorses in Peru, and 
races for the honour and glory of the sport. He 
often accompanies and clocks them in their fast 
work. As a bettor he invariably plays light. 
Elias’s pacers are considered the finest in the 


250 ADVENTURES IN PERU 


whole of Peru, but Leguia’s come second only to 
them, and his strain of milch cows is very higaly 
esteemed. 

In Peru—a land where big estates abound— 
his are among the most extensive. Coffee, sugar, 
cotton—they are all run on the best and most 
up-to-date lines. It has often been my privilege 
to stay at his beautiful palace, midway between 
Pisco and Tambo-de-Mora. It reminds me of 
the residence of his Grace the Bishop of Trinidad. 
Leguia’s father, a member of one of the oldest 
and most notable families in Spain, preferred his 
son’s house before his own. Near the palace is 
a nice chapel where a reverend Father attends every 
alternate Sunday. Close by there is the largest 
private swimming bath I know of. : 

Old Mr. Leguia died not so very long ago, 
full of years and honour. As his eminent son 
described it in felicitous phrase, ‘‘ his joint oil 
ran out.” That was all—just simply old = 
Peace to his ashes ! 

With this pious aspiration I must bing to 
a close my narrative of Peruvian incidents, and 
address myself to the task of recounting some of 


my racing experiences in Chile and the Argentine. 


To those who have a fancy for engaging on a 
trip to Peru, whether for business or pleasure, I 
would offer this word of advice. Before you 
make a start, look up the list of things printed at 
the end of Adventures in Bolivia. Pretty well all 
you will require is there set out in detail. 


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